Living in Seoul: big-city Korea on about $2,200 a month

Finding help in English: Seoul Global Center, next to exit 6 of Jonggak Station in Jongno, counsels foreign residents in 13 languages and runs free Korean classes and orientation seminars for newcomers. For quick questions about city services, call the 120 Dasan line (02-120, then 9, then 1 for English) on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. In Itaewon, an American who came to Korea 16 years earlier told the Korea Herald that there he's one of hundreds of foreigners and nobody pays him much attention.

Healthcare: Severance Hospital's International Health Care Center opened in 1962 as Korea's first international clinic, and its specialists speak English. Seoul Global Center also runs a 24-hour medical referral service with English-speaking, medically trained staff who can point you to the right hospital. Once you've lived in Korea more than six months, you must join National Health Insurance, the same public plan Koreans use, with premiums set by household income and property. Fall behind on premiums and immigration can refuse your visa extension. Arrange private coverage for the first six months.

Schools: Seoul Foreign School, founded in 1912 in western Seoul, teaches the International Baccalaureate and the English National Curriculum, and admits students who meet Korea's legal foreign-status rules. Yongsan International School of Seoul is a Christian international school in Hannam-dong. Ask each school about current tuition and openings.

Remote work: Home internet runs about $20 a month. Korea doesn't use daylight saving time, so Seoul is 13 to 14 hours ahead of Eastern, by season. Seoul counts as the capital region for the F-1-D workation visa, so the 2026 income floor is about $55,400 a year (₩78.6 million) if you're 18 to 34 and about $73,900 (₩104.8 million) if you're 35 or older.

LGBTQ expats: The 27th Seoul Queer Parade moved through central Seoul on June 13, 2026. Organizers expected 50,000 people, and a conservative Christian counter-rally gathered about 800 yards away. South Korea doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, but the Supreme Court ruled in July 2024 that same-sex partners qualify for spousal coverage under national health insurance. Expect a visible, organized community alongside organized opposition.

Black Americans: A 2022 academic study of Black residents in Korea found that Black Americans were treated better than Black Africans but were less liked than white Americans and more likely to face discrimination. A Black American student who wrote about Seoul for the study-abroad group CIEE described occasional stares and a few requests to touch her hair, and said she hadn't felt much different than at home. She also noted that other Black people she talked to had very different experiences.

Limited mobility: Since December 2025, every station on Seoul's city-run subway has an elevator route from street to platform, after the city finished 338 elevators at 338 stations. The gaps are on lines run by the national rail operator Korail: the Korea Herald reported seven stations in greater Seoul without elevators reaching both platforms. City open data lists where the wheelchair-accessible cars and platform elevators are on Lines 1 to 3. Before you sign a lease, check the building's elevator and the route to your nearest station.

Retirement: South Korea has no retirement visa. Americans of Korean heritage may qualify for the F-4 overseas Korean visa; for most others the routes are investment-based, like the F-5-5 investor visa, which asks for $500,000 and five Korean hires. Compare options in our guide to retirement visas and the full guide to moving to South Korea.