These prices reflect the cost of items in Yongin-si, about 45 minutes south of Seoul, during 2009. I am also a simple man and don't need much. Your mileage may vary, depending on your locale and year. (W before a number is won, just like $)
Food/drink:
- Small restaurant: W2,000-7,000 (I regularly eat on W3,000-5,000 and I eat a lot)
- Restaurants: W10,000-15,000 for full meal and ~4 beers and soju
- Domestic beer: W9,000 for a 3-liter pitcher of beer
- Imported beer: W2,000-5,000 per beer for crap like Budweiser, or up to W10,000 for stuff like Guinness.
Imported liquor and wine are both about twice as expensive as in the States. Thankfully, Koreans invented Soju. It is quite comparable to rubbing alcohol + gin, is generally 20% alcohol, comes in everything from a gallon jug to a juice box (I kid you not), will affect you all at once, and is cheap as can be. 500mL (16oz) usually costs less than W1500 in the stores, and isn't much more expensive at bars.
Public Transit:
- Buses: W1,000-2,000 per ride
- Subways: W1,000-2,000 per ride
- Taxi: W3,000-10,000 for 1-10km
The public transit is incredible, especially in bigger cities. You can buy a transit card (some bank cards work as well) that is scanned (you don't even have to take it out of your wallet) on every bus or subway ride before getting on and before getting off (weird to get used to on buses). You can transfer from bus to bus, subway to subway, or back and forth at a discount depending on where you get off, how long between rides, etc.
Utilities:
- Gas: W5,000 for the spring-fall months. Winter will be more.
- Electricity: W5,000 for the fall-spring months. Summer will be more.
- Water: W8,000.
- Internet: W30,000-40,000/month. This is in a new area outside of Seoul with no competitors, so it's more expensive than other places. Still very reasonable. Korea is among the best in the world when it comes to internet access and speed. My cheap internet is about 40Mbps download and over 10Mbps upload, according to speedtest.net.
- Cell phone: W30,000-40,000/month with a 1-year contract. I've got my cell and internet bundled, so I get a 10% discount off of one, or W3,000-W4,000/month. Cell phones work in the subways, and basically everywhere, as long as you don't get LG. The three main companies are SK, KT, and LG, in order of descending quality. Cell phone contracts are very difficult for foreigners to get since our visas are usually 1 year. If you get a Korean friend to sign for you then you'll be able to get one.
- Housing fee: W50,000 depending on where you live. This is for upkeep on the place. Not sure why they don't just include it in rent. It will differ from place-to-place. My first apartment had no housing fee, but my second one cost W30,000, and I heard of someone's being W50,000.
- Housing deposit: W100,000-500,000. Many schools will deduct this from your paycheck over a month or two. Check your contract. Assuming you didn't destroy your apartment or leave unpaid bills then you should get it all back except maybe W50,000, but you won't get it for a month or two, so you'll need to work something out with your employer or friend.
I'm very frugal with my utilities, so you may spend more. Also, I'm in a very small apartment (most people are), on the top floor, and surrounded on 2 sides by other apartments. Everyone's heat seeps up to me, and the small space takes only minutes to heat or cool.
Taxes:
- Federal tax: ~4% (in public schools you don't pay this, or so I hear)
- Medical: ~4%
Shopping:
Many things are at least a little cheaper than in the States, but electronics are commonly as expensive or more so. Koreans are very concerned about appearance, so there are many designer stores here. You can easily spend your entire paycheck in one day, if you have the desire. You can also use Dave's ESL Cafe to buy many things from teachers who are leaving. I don't do much shopping so I don't know much, sorry.