How Seoul and Tokyo 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 Pick it for more comfortable months.
Tokyo Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Everyday costsEven
Close: it depends more on where you live than which city. Rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around come to $937 to $1,190 (£704 to £897) a month in Seoul, against $1,180 to $1,390 (£889 to £1,050) in Tokyo.
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). Tokyo: Designated Activities (Digital Nomad), about $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year).
A London 9 to 5Even
A finish after midnight in both: 17:00 to 01:00 in Seoul, 17:00 to 01:00 in Tokyo.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 22:00 to 06:00 in Seoul, 22:00 to 06:00 in Tokyo.
WeatherSeoul
Seoul has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 4 in Seoul, 1 in Tokyo. Both are comfortable in May.
InternetEven
Much the same. Typical download speed: 258 Mbps in Seoul, 255 Mbps in Tokyo, from each guide.
SafetyEven
The US State Department puts both countries at level 1. Watch for drug laws, nightlife and protests in Seoul; bar touts and drink spiking in Tokyo.
Side by side
Measure
Seoul
Tokyo
Country
South Korea
Japan
Language
Korean
Japanese
Currency
South Korean won (KRW)
Japanese yen (JPY, written ¥)
Plugs
—
Type A and B, 100V
Time zone
UTC+9 today
UTC+9 today
A month's basics
$937 to $1,190 (£704 to £897)
$1,180 to $1,390 (£889 to £1,050)
Remote work visa
Workation visa (F-1-D)
Designated Activities (Digital Nomad)
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 $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year)
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, and you can apply for 90 more. American: under 90 days as a visitor, with no paid work
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
No day count: a base of life in Japan, or a year's continuous residence
Download speed
258 Mbps
255 Mbps
Comfortable months
May, June, September and October
May
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
1 regular group still running
3 regular groups 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
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 $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year); in pounds, about £3,950 a month
How long
Six months, with no extension. Six months outside Japan before you apply again
What it leads to
Nowhere stated. Permanent residence is in principle ten years, citizenship ten in practice, both tightened in 2026
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, and you can apply for 90 more. American: under 90 days as a visitor, with no paid work
The catch. Six months only, with no residence card and no public health insurance. Your passport must be on Japan's list, and freelancers must clear the bar in profit, not turnover.
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.
Salaried remote employees, or freelancers with JPY 10 million a year in profit, who want one intense six-month stint and no plan to settle. You need private health insurance arranged before you go, and a passport on the eligible list: British and American passports are on it. For a shorter trial, British visitors get 90 days on arrival and can apply for 90 more without the nomad visa. Choose where to live by rail line: an unfurnished 1K in Koenji or Shimokitazawa averages JPY 86,800 to 101,000, but furnished monthly lets cost more.
It doesn't suit
Anyone below JPY 10 million, especially freelancers with high turnover but lower profit. Anyone who wants a base to build towards residence: the nomad visa cannot be extended, gives no residence card and leads nowhere stated. In 2026 citizenship moved to ten years in practice, and permanent residence gained income, pension and B1 Japanese tests. Anyone who needs English beyond stations and hotels. Anyone who cannot take heat and rain, because June to October is hard work. And anyone hoping for a cheap Asian base: listed single-flat rents in the 23 wards averaged JPY 135,764 in August 2026, up 15 per cent in a year.
