How Seoul and Taipei compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Seoul Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Taipei Pick it for easier UK working hours and more comfortable months.
Everyday costsEven
What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $937 to $1,190 (£704 to £897) a month in Seoul, against $553 to $705 (£415 to £529) in Taipei. Taipei has no checked figure for a desk, which would have to cost more than $232 a month to close the gap.
The visaEven
It depends which figure applies to you. Seoul: Workation visa (F-1-D), about $3,280 to $6,560 a month (KRW 52,410,000 a year, depending on your age and where you live). Taipei: Digital Nomad Visitor Visa, about $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age).
A London 9 to 5Taipei
Taipei: 16:00 to 00:00, a late finish. In Seoul it's 17:00 to 01:00, a finish after midnight.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 22:00 to 06:00 in Seoul, 21:00 to 05:00 in Taipei.
WeatherTaipei
Taipei has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 4 in Seoul, 6 in Taipei. No month is comfortable in both.
InternetEven
Much the same. Typical download speed: 258 Mbps in Seoul, 271 Mbps in Taipei, from each guide.
SafetyEven
The US State Department puts both countries at level 1. Watch for drug laws, nightlife and protests in Seoul; typhoons, earthquakes and drug and vape laws in Taipei.
Side by side
Measure
Seoul
Taipei
Country
South Korea
Taiwan
Language
Korean
Mandarin. Taiwan has no legally designated official language: Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka and Indigenous languages are all national languages
Currency
South Korean won (KRW)
New Taiwan dollar (TWD, written NT$)
Plugs
—
Type A and B, 110V. Type A is more common
Time zone
UTC+9 today
UTC+8 today
A month's basics
$937 to $1,190 (£704 to £897)
$553 to $705 (£415 to £529), with a desk missing
Remote work visa
Workation visa (F-1-D)
Digital Nomad Visitor Visa
Income needed
About $3,280 to $6,560 a month (KRW 52,410,000 a year, depending on your age and where you live)
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age)
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, with no K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026. American: 90 days. No K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026; required from 1 January 2027
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
Tax residency
183 days or more in a tax year, or from 2026 183 days in a row across two tax years, or a domicile in Korea
183 days or more in a calendar year, or a domicile in Taiwan where you habitually live
Download speed
258 Mbps
271 Mbps
Comfortable months
May, June, September and October
January, February, March, April, November and December
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
1 regular group still running
1 regular group still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Seoul
$937 to $1,190£704 to £897 a month
Rent
$509 to $766Average one-room rent, 33 square metres or less, unfurnished, on a KRW 10 million deposit: Mapo to Gangnam, June 2026. KRW 678,000 to 1,020,000
$143Kimchi-jjigae baekban, the set lunch, Seoul average, KRW 8,654 each, 22 working days
Getting around
$51Subway at the KRW 1,550 base fare, two trips each working day: our estimate over 22 working days. The Climate Card closed on 1 September 2026; its replacement is for Seoul residents only and had no launch date. KRW 68,200
$462 to $600Median studio rent, citywide up to Neihu, first half of 2026. Not known whether furnished. TWD 15,000 to 19,500
A desk
No checked figureNo monthly coworking price on an operator's own site: Regus and Spaces price only by the day, from NT$276 a day for unlimited access (on a 24-month contract at Regus), or NT$680 for a day pass
Weekday lunches
$54 to $68Biandang, the lunch box: a Taiwan Railway bento, January 2025, TWD 80 to 100 each, 22 working days
Getting around
$37TPASS commuter pass, 30 days of unlimited metro, buses, Taiwan Railway, highway buses, light rail and YouBike across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. TWD 1,200
About $3,280 to $6,560 a month (KRW 52,410,000 a year, depending on your age and where you live); in pounds, about £2,460 to £4,930 a month
How long
One year, renewed a year at a time: three years at most, up from two on 30 June 2026
What it leads to
Nowhere directly, says one weak source. Years to permanent residence and citizenship not checked
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, with no K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026. American: 90 days. No K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026; required from 1 January 2027
The catch. The bar depends on your age and address. The lowest checked figure, KRW 52.41 million, is only for 18 to 34 year olds living outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi or in a population-decline area; in Seoul you need KRW 78.62 million at 18 to 34 and KRW 104.83 million at 35 or over. The bands follow GNI per capita, so they move every year, and many embassy pages still show the old flat rule.
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age); in pounds, about £1,250 to £2,500 a month
How long
Six months, extendable six months at a time to two years in all
What it leads to
Not shown to lead anywhere: it is a visitor visa. The National Development Council's FAQ says holders "can apply to convert to long-term residence" but gives no route. Permanent residence runs through the Employment Gold Card, after three years
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
The catch. The bar is USD 20,000 a year if you are 20 to 29 and USD 40,000 if you are 30 or over, and there is no income band for under-20s. Income alone is not enough: you also need a bank balance averaging USD 10,000 a month over the last six months. And it stops at two years, with no longer stay until the law changes.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
Crime against foreigners is rare, with occasional thefts. Take care near the DMZ, where tension can rise without notice. (The FCDO headline itself was not checked.)
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Seoul
It suits
Salaried employees of foreign companies, with at least a year in the job, who are 18 to 34 and earn KRW 78.62 million a year or more, or 35 and over on KRW 104.83 million. It also suits anyone happy to live outside the capital region, where the bars are lower. You get very fast broadband, cheap everyday meals from KRW 3,800 for gimbap, a mature coworking market and a city where violent and property crime is rare.
It doesn't suit
Freelancers with a list of clients and no employer letter: the visa is written around employment by, or ownership of, a foreign company, and freelancers are not mentioned. Without it you get 90 days and no right to work. Anyone who will not deal with Korean-language leases and deposits in the millions of won. Anyone who hates heat or cold: July and August bring over 750mm of rain between them and highs of 29 to 30 degrees, and nights are below freezing from December to February. And anyone who uses cannabis anywhere: people have been detained on drug tests alone.
A remote employee or freelancer earning USD 40,000 or more (USD 20,000 if under 30) who has USD 10,000 sitting in the bank and wants up to two years somewhere with very low crime. The UK government calls crime "extremely low". Home fibre has a median of about 270 Mbps, and a NT$1,200 pass covers metro and buses across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. British passport holders in particular can try it for up to 180 days with no visa at all.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who wilts in heat: July averages a 35 degree daily high, and typhoons are possible from May to November. Anyone who vapes: e-cigarettes are banned. Anyone hoping the nomad visa leads somewhere: it is a visitor visa capped at two years, and the government itself says longer stays need a change in the law. Permanent residence runs through the Gold Card instead. And anyone wanting a cheap Asian base: a studio in the districts you would choose has a median of NT$18,000 to 19,500 a month, and the average in Xinyi is over NT$31,000.
