3.44/5
333 reviews
Photo by Thomas Roger Lux via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Busan

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nice

fish

seoul

gimhae

beach

great

bit

fresh

enjoy

transportation

coworking

work

general

art

airport

rail

line

Gimhae offers a quieter city vibe with easy access to Busan, making it a good base for those who enjoy nature, art, and less densely populated areas. The light rail connects Gimhae to Busan and the international airport, adding convenience for travel. Gimhae also has major supermarkets and quirky street art, contributing to its local character.

Busan itself is well-suited for digital nomads who prioritize lifestyle. It's very walkable and offers quick access to both mountains and beaches, plus good weather during summer months. Internet is consistently strong in cafés, many of which are comfortable places to work from due to the limited number of nomad-friendly coworking spaces. The public transportation is efficient enough that a car or motorbike isn't necessary, and there are many gyms available for staying active.

The primary drawbacks mentioned are the relatively high cost of living—about twice that of cities in Thailand or Vietnam—and the lack of coworking spaces oriented toward solo remote workers, although many offset this by working from reliable and well-equipped cafés. In summary, Busan and Gimhae together provide a practical and enjoyable place to live for nomads looking for both city amenities and natural surroundings.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

Busan is a hidden gem for summer runaways from the SE Asia heat. It's a great city for cafe-hopping. There are nice cafes almost everywhere in the city. You normally don't have to worry about the internet as almost every cafe I've visited has strong WIFI. The city is very walkable. You can enjoy mountains beaches and many city scenes. There's even a surf town in the city. Public transportation is very advanced and convenient so you won't need a motorbike or a car. So many gyms around the city so its easy to keep your exercise routine. The only missing piece is some good community vibe coworking space as there are a few coworking places in the city but they are intended for startups rather than nomads. But a quick solution is to just work in cafés. In general, the living cost is about twice of Thai and Vietnamese cities. Probably a bit more than Canggu Bali; but you get the extra values of a modern city with all the things to do and convenience.

2 years ago

Gimhae is a nice area to stay if you enjoy nature, art galleries, shops, and a smaller city feel near the airport. You will have access to Busan as well. The light rail is a handy automated above ground rail to use. The line goes into Gimhae, to the Gimhae International Airport, and slightly into Busan before having to shift to another metro or transportation line. Gimhae also has a Costco and major supermarkets. The street art is also quirky.

4 years ago

Great place if you like Korean cuisine and fresh fish in general. Haedong Yonggungsa seaside temple is the absolute highlight. Locals are helpful, too bad 8/10 won't speak english. Young people included!
Remember: Uber, Grab, Google Maps won't work in Korea, in favour of Kakao app which is pure garbage and all in Korean.
And by the way pornography is illegal.

7 years ago

Korea's second biggest city after Seoul. Busan is a nice place to go if you want to see another part of Korea that's still pretty comfortable. It's in the south of South Korea, on the ocean, and that makes it a great place to eat fish. In fact that's where all the fish in Seoul comes from, so you can eat it fresh in Busan! In many ways Busan feels like Seoul but 10 or 20 years ago. It's a bit more grimy and broken down and less futuristic than Seoul, but still very nice. I'd suggest staying in Seomyeon, which is kinda like Seoul's Hongdae. It's a student area with some hipster vibes to it. But take hipster vibes with a grain of salt, this is Busan after all. People are very friendly, even more friendly than Seoul. Where in Seoul as a foreigner they don't really care anymore, in Busan you're still hailed as a curiosity which can be fun! If you want to see the beach, take a taxi to Haeundae Beach. It's especially nice in the evening if you'd like to party. Korean beach culture is a bit different than in the West, so you'll probably see less swimming and sunbathing that you're used to. More like people walking on the beach boulevard. Also nice is to see the Jagalchi fish market, pick some fish you like in the big building and you can ask them to prepare it for you upstairs and cook it. Fish as fresh as you can get in Korea.

7 years ago

✅ Fast internet

✅ Very walkable

✅ Advanced public transportation

✅ Many cafes

✅ Access to nature and beaches

✅ Plenty of gyms

✅ Very safe

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Family friendly

❌ Few coworking spaces for digital nomads

❌ Higher cost of living

❌ Expensive

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Very difficult to make friends

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ People smoking tobacco a lot

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

439°
cold

948°
cold

1254°
cool

1457°
cool

1864°
cool

2170°
mild

3086°
warm

3188°
hot

2475°
warm

2170°
mild

1559°
cool

745°
cold

Real (median)

643°
very cold

1151°
cool

1456°
cool

1559°
cool

1864°
cool

2170°
mild

2679°
warm

2781°
warm

2475°
warm

2068°
mild

1559°
cool

948°
cold

Humidity

nice
62%

nice
61%

nice
68%

nice
67%

nice
75%

nice
81%

nice
89%

sweaty
86%

nice
81%

nice
75%

nice
65%

nice
64%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
34mm

dry
46mm

rainy
90mm

rainy
87mm

rainy
138mm

rainy
150mm

rainy
212mm

rainy
185mm

rainy
161mm

dry
47mm

rainy
53mm

dry
3mm

Cloud

pockets
26%

pockets
35%

cloudy
60%

cloudy
62%

cloudy
69%

cloudy
79%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
67%

pockets
42%

pockets
36%

pockets
22%

Air quality

okay
74 US AQI

okay
98 US AQI

okay
78 US AQI

okay
69 US AQI

okay
83 US AQI

okay
54 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

okay
64 US AQI

okay
53 US AQI

clean
46 US AQI

okay
60 US AQI

okay
65 US AQI

Sun

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

Remote workers

1,333 people

1,067 people

2,025 people

2,150 people

3,273 people

2,073 people

1,246 people

2,340 people

3,267 people

2,031 people

1,909 people

1,300 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Busan's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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$3,264 / mo

34 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 31° 88° 27° 81° 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️26min

$3,264 / mo

🌇 Also went here290 people

Osaka

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 17

✈️47min

$2,547 / mo

🌇 Also went here151 people

Kyoto

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 32° 90° 28° 82° 🥵 AQI 40

✈️5h

$1,178 / mo

🌇 Also went here146 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 27° 81° 25° 78° AQI 62 😷

✈️11h

$1,941 / mo

🌇 Also went here127 people

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.44/5 (Rank #138) 333 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍6 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🙂 Okay: $2,987 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 37 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 26°C78°F (feels 29°C84°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 92%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 86%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 21 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 59 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	High: $2,315 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	South Korea
🗓️ Average trip length	5 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	37 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 26°C 78°F + 😊 Comfy (92%) = feels 29°C 84°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 21 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 59 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Dong-gu
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Suyeong-gu
🚕 Best taxi app*	Kakao T
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10,000 KRW in USD	USD 7.06
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	KRW 100,000 = USD 71
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Regus
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Tom N Toms
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	9% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	3,400,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$27,785 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 48% 👱‍♀️ 52%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 56% 👱‍♀️ 44%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 86% 👱‍♀️ 14%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Ambiguous
💻 Online electronics shop	Gmarket
🏠 Apartment listings	Stayes
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Jeju Air
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Korean Air

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,987 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,161 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,422 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$692 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,298 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$5,573 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,592 / month
🏠 Median home price	$282,392
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$61 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$183 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$169 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$21,179 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip

Cost of Living in Busan

1,200 remote workers in Busan now, of which 2+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

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