Gwangju vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Gwangju	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1081	$533
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2620	$1272
🏠 One person rent	$462	$235
🏘️ Family rent	$793	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$422	$220
🚐 Transport expenses	$114	$22.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2442	$181
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	58	1
😀 Quality of life	87	25
🏙️ Population	1.49M	63.4K

The cost of living in Gwangju is 103% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 5038th and 8428th ($1081 vs $533) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 26th and 1st in South Korea and Kiribati, respectively. Check South Korea vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.3 months in Gwangju compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Gwangju ranked 7th best city to live in South Korea vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 363rd and 8954th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Gwangju vs South Tarawa infographic

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Prices in Gwangju vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Gwangju and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Gwangju	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.64	$3.73
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$35.2	$21.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.63	$5.03
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.78	$1.8
☕ Cappuccino	$3.46	$1.9
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.32	$0.61
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$390	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$307	$155
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$709	$405
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$560	$280
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$119	$39.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$183	$61.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.6	$26.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.94%	12.18%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7419	$1457
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4877	$926
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.88	$0.42
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.2	$16.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.55	$6.92
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$1.07
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.74	$1.21
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.27	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.64	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$1.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$7.34
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.38	$4.41
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.9	$7.25
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.11	$2.21
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.79	$1.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.11	$1.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.4	$1.12
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.28	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.35	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.85	$0.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.69	$1.23
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.8	$7.85
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.52	$1.43
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.14	$2.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.13	$3.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.5	$2.92
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.24	$1.54
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.39	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$45.4	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.33	$4.54
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$34.8	$18.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$6.38	$3.66
👖 Brand Jeans	$47.8	$30.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61.1	$66.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$253	$113
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10915	$3644

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Gwangju

Distance	City	Cost of living
24 km or 15 mi	Naju	$1001
45 km or 28 mi	Jeongeup	$981
50 km or 31 mi	Namwon	$980
57 km or 36 mi	Suncheon	$1016
64 km or 39 mi	Mokpo	$1005
71 km or 44 mi	Gimje	$982
76 km or 47 mi	Gwangyang	$991
76 km or 47 mi	Jeonju	$831
82 km or 51 mi	Yeosu	$994
86 km or 54 mi	Iksan	$998
92 km or 57 mi	Gunsan	$1020
106 km or 66 mi	Jinju	$1064
116 km or 72 mi	Nonsan	$1046
127 km or 79 mi	Gyeryong	$976
131 km or 81 mi	Sacheon	$984
132 km or 82 mi	Asan	$1050
133 km or 82 mi	Boryeong	$1085
138 km or 86 mi	Daejeon	$959
142 km or 88 mi	Tongyeong	$934
145 km or 90 mi	Gongju	$1063
148 km or 92 mi	Masan	$1008
150 km or 93 mi	Sejong	$1020
151 km or 94 mi	Gimcheon	$934
156 km or 97 mi	Geoje	$913
158 km or 98 mi	Changwon	$1084
170 km or 106 mi	Miryang	$1038
171 km or 106 mi	Daegu	$1062
171 km or 107 mi	Cheongju	$924
174 km or 108 mi	Gumi	$949
179 km or 111 mi	Sangju	$957
179 km or 111 mi	Gimhae	$975
180 km or 112 mi	Gyeongsan	$1001
184 km or 114 mi	Cheonan	$1153
184 km or 115 mi	Seosan	$1068
188 km or 117 mi	Jeju	$1069
193 km or 120 mi	Busan	$1108
194 km or 120 mi	Yangsan	$1039
194 km or 120 mi	Dangjin	$1059
196 km or 122 mi	Mungyeong	$973
203 km or 126 mi	Jeju Island	$1100

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1496
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1502
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$733
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$684
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$683
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1417
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1419
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$1882
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$596
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$997
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$1884
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$818
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$836
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$751
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$753
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1811
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1807
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1878
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1024
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1022
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$548
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$566
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$532
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1437
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2406
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$2786
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1513
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$507
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1503
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1683
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1595
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1712
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1482
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2825
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1697
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1710
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1798
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2065
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2637