Edith Piaf , Non , Je ne regrette rien Q 3 Kvu 6 Kgp 88 <| sep |> The COL equation is difficult , there ' s a bunch of considerations Most Koreans in the age bracket that makes up the primary grunt force don ' t pay rent , either because they ' re on a model where their parents paid an upfront deposit that nixes rent , or their parents pay the monthly , or many they live with family until they get married . On the other hand , Koreans feel they need to save a lot because they can ' t expect a decent pension upon retirement , and because they feel they can ' t marry without buying a house coinciding with getting wed in a housing market where increasingly no one can afford to buy one anymore due to exploding prices now see the birth rate trend . A lot of these work contracts are all overtime accouted for and there is absolutely zero labor law enforcement as far as the onpaper 40 hour work week goes , so it ' s not unheard of to spend 16 hours a day at work , sixseven days a week or 12 hours and then three hours mandatory afterwork drinking with colleagues . Many employers sweeten the overtime by paying your dinner if you stay that long , which affects COL . Because these Koreans don ' t spend much time at home see above they don ' t spend a lot of money on nest deco . And while utilities are expensive , gaspower doesn ' t cost much if you don ' t use it . Medical costs are fairly low . Food prices are fairly low , except for certain things fruit , highquality meat . Bottom line These numbers are just fine to get by as a single in Korea . But for many childrearing has become economically infeasible in the Korean system education costs are high . The birth and marriage rates reflect that . Sources I live in Seoul useful chart .