Cost of living

Seongsu-dong Cost of Living for Foreign Residents (2026)

Monthly cost-of-living breakdown for Seongsu-dong in Seoul for a single foreign resident in 2026.

Estimated total monthly cost

₩2.7M

Single foreign resident, one-bedroom rental in Seongsu-dong, mid-tier lifestyle (eating out 4-5x/week, occasional leisure spending). Rent is the dominant variable; the rest is roughly Korea-wide.

What does cost of living in Seongsu-dong include?

CategoryMonthly
Rent (one-bedroom, monthly 월세)₩1.1M
Utilities (electricity, gas, water, management / 관리비)₩284K
Internet₩44K
Mobile phone (one line)₩49K
Food (single, eating out + groceries)₩555K
Transit (T-money + occasional taxi)₩62K
National Health Insurance (국민건강보험) premium₩160K
Leisure and discretionary₩250K
Miscellaneous₩200K
Total estimated monthly₩2.7M

What is rent in Seongsu-dong by apartment size?

Unit typeDepositMonthly (월세)Jeonse (전세)
Studio / officetel (오피스텔)₩20.0M₩800K₩260.0M
1-bedroom₩30.0M₩1.1M₩380.0M
2-bedroom₩100.0M₩1.5M₩550.0M

Deposit and jeonse (전세) figures are typical Q2 2026 ranges. Actual listings vary by unit age, building amenities, and floor.

Reported contracts in Seongdong-gu (성동구), September 2026

  • Apartment: median monthly rent ₩1,800,000 with a ₩200m deposit (140 new leases)
  • Officetel: median monthly rent ₩780,000 with a ₩10m deposit (83 new leases)
  • Villa or row house: median monthly rent ₩600,000 with a ₩50m deposit (85 new leases)

These are medians of new leases of all sizes reported to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the whole district. The table above is our estimate for typical units in Seongsu-dong.

See rent and jeonse in Seongdong-gu

Why does Seongsu-dong cost what it does?

Seongsu-dong is described as: Trendy, creative, gentrifying, design-forward, cafe culture, young professionals. For foreign-resident friendliness, we rate it medium: this affects English availability at services and how easy daily life feels for someone without strong Korean.

For a deeper neighborhood profile (transit, food, schools, where foreign residents tend to live), see the full Seongsu-dong guide.

Read the full neighborhood guide

Seongsu-dong, Seoul

Continue to the full Seongsu-dong guide

For a personalized cost-of-living estimate based on your household, tier, and unit type, try our Korea cost-of-living calculator.