Living in Gyeongju-si

In Gyeongju-si, tenants pay an average rent of €358 a month (2026) and unemployment is 2.8% (2025).

The city covered 1,324.9 km² in 2020. The housing-vacancy rate was 13.5% at the end of 2024. The unemployment rate was 2.8% at the end of 2025. In March 2026, the foreign population was 15,640. In June 2026, 경주시 had a population of 243,051.

Last checked 2026-10-0223 sources

Population243,051people30 Jun 2026Official source · MOIS resident registration population by si/gun/gu, June 2026

Average rent358.5EUR/month31 Aug 2026Official source · (월) 평균월세가격_아파트 (Korea Real Estate Board / R-ONE)

Unemployment rate2.8%country median 2.7% — 4% aboveOfficial source · 2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey — municipal key employment indicators

Recorded crime3,025incidents per 100,00031 Dec 2024Official source · KR-Police-regional-crime-2024

PM2.5, annual mean14µg/m³country median 16.0 — 12% belowOfficial source · 2024 Air Environment Annual Report — Appendix 1.3 city annual concentrations

Which South Korea-wide rules apply when you move to Gyeongju-si?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in South KoreaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Gyeongju-si.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Gyeongju-si. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€32

Mobile plan, 10 GB€29

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	31.8 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	KT 100 Mbps internet¹¹Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	28.91 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	KT mobile data plan¹²Official · national market
Dwellings	113,985 dwellings	31 Dec 2024	DT_1JU1501 2024 housing units by municipality⁴Official
Housing vacancy rate	13.45 %	31 Dec 2024	DT_1JU1512 2024 vacant housing units by municipality⁵Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	358.5 EUR/month	31 Aug 2026	(월) 평균월세가격_아파트 (Korea Real Estate Board / R-ONE)¹Official

Is Gyeongju-si a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker54%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 45–63%

Skilled employee70%strong on work, weak on safety · range 62–78%

Student57%strong on education, weak on work · range 49–65%

Family71%strong on family, weak on cost · range 63–79%

Retirement52%strong on safety, weak on admin · range 42–62%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in 경주시?

The unemployment rate is 2.8 % (2025). Source: 2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey — municipal key employment indicators³

Unemployment across cities in South KoreaUnemployment in Gyeongju-si is 2.8%. Of 218 cities with data, 36 have unemployment of 0.5 to under 1%.

0–0.50.5–11–1.51.5–22–2.52.5–33–3.53.5–44–4.54.5–55–5.55.5–6

Gyeongju-si 2.8%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Public employment offices	1 count	15 Sept 2026	Work24 — 고용복지+센터 institution finder²³Official
Unemployment rate	2.8 %country median 2.7%	31 Dec 2025	2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey — municipal key employment indicators³Official

Public employment offices in Gyeongju-si

Work24 lists 1 public employment office in Gyeongju-si (checked 2026-09-16). Use the official office finder for addresses and appointments; registration and job search are also available online through the national service below.

Office count verified

Work24 public employment service — Public employment service

Ministry of Employment and Labor, Republic of Korea

Job Search

Search jobs

Open the South Korea service overview

The office count comes from the service's own directory. Individual addresses and opening hours are not listed here yet. Sources checked through 16 Sept 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Public language course providers	10 count	30 Sept 2026	National KIIP operating-institution register¹⁶Official
Schools	92 schools	21 Jul 2026	Schoolinfo official open-data callback response²⁰Official

Healthcare

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Doctors per 1,000 residents	2.1 per 1,000	31 Dec 2024	KOSIS e-RegionIndex doctors per 1000⁸Official
Hospital beds per 100,000 residents	1,530 beds per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	KOSIS e-RegionIndex hospital beds per 100k⁹Official
Hospitals	23 count	30 Jun 2026	HIRA 전국 병의원 및 약국 현황 2026.6 — 시설정보⁶Official
Pharmacies	124 count	30 Jun 2026	HIRA 전국 병의원 및 약국 현황 2026.6 — 약국정보서비스⁶Official
Physicians per 100,000 residents	210 per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	KOSIS e-RegionIndex doctors per 1000⁸Official

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Gyeongju-si under the national coverage rules.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Doctors per 1,000 residents2.1 per 1,000Verified 2026-07-21

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Safety

How safe is 경주시?

Police recorded about 3,025 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: KR-Police-regional-crime-2024¹⁰

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	3,025 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	KR-Police-regional-crime-2024¹⁰Official
Violent crime per 100,000 residents	39.09 incidents per 100,000	31 Dec 2024	KR-Police-regional-crime-2024¹⁰Official

Language courses and integration in Gyeongju-si

National KIIP operating-institution register lists 10 publicly funded course providers in Gyeongju-si (checked 2026-09-16). Their individual addresses are not listed here yet; the national programme below explains who can enrol and how.

Provider count verified

Early Adaptation Program — Newcomer Adaptation

Ministry of Justice / Korea Immigration Service

For newly arrived foreign residents, international students, workers, marriage migrants.

KoreanIn Person

Open official information

Social Integration Program (KIIP) — Integration course

Ministry of Justice / Korea Immigration Service

For foreign residents in Korea, people within three years of naturalization.

KoreanIn Person, Online

Open official information

Open the full South Korea section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Gyeongju-si.

Find courses near Gyeongju-si

Climate and air quality

The annual mean temperature estimate was 15.3°C at the end of 2024. The annual precipitation estimate was 1,303 mm at the end of 2024. Annual PM2.5 was 14 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Is the air quality good in 경주시?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 14 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: 2024 Air Environment Annual Report — Appendix 1.3 city annual concentrations²

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

0°

6°-5°

8°-3°

14°1°

20°6°

26°12°

28°17°

31°21°

31°22°

26°16°

22°9°

15°3°

8°-3°

JFMAMJJASOND

Night-time low to daytime high

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

101

190

192

194

108

JFMAMJJASOND

Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours

197

179

227

219

240

182

163

181

148

179

162

186

JFMAMJJASOND

hours

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.514WHO 5 · EU 25

PM1026WHO 15 · EU 40

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in South KoreaAnnual PM2.5 in Gyeongju-si is 14.0 µg/m³. Of 235 cities with data, 47 have annual PM2.5 of 17 to under 18 µg/m³.

9–1010–1111–1212–1313–1414–1515–1616–1717–1818–1919–2020–2121–2222–23

Gyeongju-si 14.0

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM10 — annual mean	26 µg/m³country median 30.0	31 Dec 2024	2024 Air Environment Annual Report — Appendix 1.3 city annual concentrations²Official
PM2.5 — annual mean	14 µg/m³country median 16.0	31 Dec 2024	2024 Air Environment Annual Report — Appendix 1.3 city annual concentrations²Official
Average daytime high by month	Jan 5.9 · Feb 8.4 · Mar 14.4 · Apr 19.7 · May 25.7 · Jun 27.7 · Jul 30.6 · Aug 31.4 · Sep 26.2 · Oct 21.6 · Nov 15.3 · Dec 7.7 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv²²Official · nearest-station reading
Average night-time low by month	Jan -4.7 · Feb -3.1 · Mar 1 · Apr 6 · May 11.7 · Jun 17 · Jul 21.4 · Aug 21.9 · Sep 16.2 · Oct 9.3 · Nov 3 · Dec -3.2 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv²²Official · nearest-station reading
Average temperature by month	Jan 0.3 · Feb 2.3 · Mar 7.4 · Apr 12.7 · May 18.4 · Jun 21.9 · Jul 25.4 · Aug 25.9 · Sep 20.5 · Oct 14.8 · Nov 8.7 · Dec 1.9 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv²²Official · nearest-station reading
Average precipitation by month	Jan 32.2 · Feb 30.8 · Mar 59.7 · Apr 96.1 · May 55.3 · Jun 100.6 · Jul 190.1 · Aug 191.9 · Sep 194.1 · Oct 108.2 · Nov 37.8 · Dec 24.4 mm	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv²²Official · nearest-station reading
Average sunshine by month	Jan 197.2 · Feb 179.1 · Mar 226.7 · Apr 218.8 · May 240 · Jun 182.1 · Jul 162.9 · Aug 180.9 · Sep 147.5 · Oct 178.5 · Nov 161.8 · Dec 186.2 hours	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv²²Official · nearest-station reading
Annual mean temperature	15.32 °C	31 Dec 2024	NASA POWER 2024 daily point climate observation for South Korea municipalities¹⁵Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context
Annual precipitation	1,303 mm	31 Dec 2024	NASA POWER 2024 daily point climate observation for South Korea municipalities¹⁵Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context

Population and city profile

How many people live in 경주시?

The published population was 243,051 people in June 2026. Source: MOIS resident registration population by si/gun/gu, June 2026¹³

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport93.6%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Cars per 1,000 residents	642.7 cars/1000 residents	31 Dec 2024	Registered motor vehicles by si, gun and gu¹⁹Official
City area	1,325 km²	2020	Official KOSIS visual statistics, Korea City Statistics, regional area; joined to the archived MOIS/KOSIS si-gun-gu code and name.¹⁷Official
Foreign-resident share	6.4 %	31 Dec 2025	Korea Immigration Service registered foreigners by si/gun/gu and nationality, 2025-12-31⁷Official
Foreign residents	15,640 people	31 Mar 2026	Registered foreigners by local government, March 2026¹⁸Official
Population density	184.8 people/km²	31 Dec 2024	Exact si-gun-gu density derived from archived official MOIS/KOSIS resident population and exact official KOSIS area row.¹⁷Official
Female residents	121,291 people	30 Jun 2026	MOIS resident-registration population, sex and household counts by administrative area, June 2026¹⁴Official
Male residents	121,760 people	30 Jun 2026	MOIS resident-registration population, sex and household counts by administrative area, June 2026¹⁴Official
Population	243,051 people	30 Jun 2026	MOIS resident registration population by si/gun/gu, June 2026¹³Official

International community in Gyeongju-si

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Citizenship

Persons recorded in the official KOSIS registered-foreigner population table; this is not the total resident population and is not interchangeable with resident citizenship. · 2025

Published group	People	Share
계	15,621	100.0%
베트남	3,437	22.0%
중국	1,393	8.9%
우즈베키스탄	1,148	7.3%
카자흐스탄	1,129	7.2%
캄보디아	1,037	6.6%
스리랑카	897	5.7%
인도네시아	838	5.4%
네팔	796	5.1%
한국계중국인	632	4.0%

Show 62 more groups

Published group	People	Share
러시아(연방)	592	3.8%
미얀마	536	3.4%
필리핀	445	2.8%
타이(태국)	398	2.5%
방글라데시	391	2.5%
인도	366	2.3%
파키스탄	184	1.2%
튀니지	181	1.2%
이집트	170	1.1%
키르기즈	152	1.0%
투르크메니스탄	137	0.9%
말레이시아	104	0.7%
한국계러시아인	85	0.5%
일본	79	0.5%
라오스	68	0.4%
몽골	59	0.4%
우크라이나	55	0.4%
타이완(대만)	34	0.2%
미국	33	0.2%
타지키스탄	25	0.2%
티모르민주공화국(동티모르)	21	0.1%
남아프리카공화국	20	0.1%
튀르키예	19	0.1%
탄자니아	17	0.1%
캐나다	15	0.1%
영국	15	0.1%
모로코	12	0.1%
브라질	10	0.1%
기타	9	0.1%
이란	8	0.1%
알제리	8	0.1%
가나	6	0.0%
예멘공화국	5	0.0%
아프가니스탄	5	0.0%
프랑스	4	0.0%
나이지리아	4	0.0%
르완다	4	0.0%
오스트레일리아	3	0.0%
라이베리아	3	0.0%
세네갈	3	0.0%
부룬디	3	0.0%
홍콩	2	0.0%
네덜란드	2	0.0%
에티오피아	2	0.0%
케냐	2	0.0%
조지아	2	0.0%
독일	1	0.0%
뉴질랜드	1	0.0%
싱가포르	1	0.0%
아일랜드	1	0.0%
카메룬	1	0.0%
스페인	1	0.0%
리비아	1	0.0%
벨라루스	1	0.0%
콩고민주공화국	1	0.0%
이스라엘	1	0.0%
불가리아	1	0.0%
체코	1	0.0%
몰도바	1	0.0%
시에라리온	1	0.0%
팔레스타인	1	0.0%
에스토니아	1	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source²¹

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Households	127,119 households	30 Jun 2026	MOIS resident-registration population, sex and household counts by administrative area, June 2026¹⁴Official

Alternatives for people set on Gyeongju-si

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Geoje-si as a Gyeongju-si alternative in the same country

Better on 4 of 7 metrics measured the same way, worse on 2.

Hospital beds, per 100k: 1,020.0 Geoje-si vs 1,530.0 Gyeongju-si−33%
Unemployment: 2.4% Geoje-si vs 2.8% Gyeongju-si−14%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 3,403 Geoje-si vs 3,025 Gyeongju-si+13%
Empty flats: 15.6% Geoje-si vs 13.5% Gyeongju-si+16%
Annual PM2.5: 12.0 µg/m³ Geoje-si vs 14.0 µg/m³ Gyeongju-si−14%
Foreign residents: 7.1% Geoje-si vs 6.4% Gyeongju-si+12%
Residents: 229,029 Geoje-si vs 243,051 Gyeongju-si−6%

Full comparison More about Geoje-si

Alternative cities in South Korea

Other cities in South Korea to compare with Gyeongju-si, nearest in population first.

All South Korea cities

Seongsan-gu245,292 residents Gunpo-si249,462 residents Sujeong-gu234,639 residents Dalseong-gun252,000 residents Manan-gu233,711 residents Osan-si253,590 residents

How does Gyeongju-si compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Gyeongju-si's.

Open the full comparison

Gyeongju-si in rankings

#13 of 30 in South Korean cities with the highest foreign-population share

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in 경주시?

The published population was 243,051 people in June 2026. Source: MOIS resident registration population by si/gun/gu, June 2026.

Is the air quality good in 경주시?

How safe is 경주시?

Police recorded about 3,025 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: KR-Police-regional-crime-2024.

What is the unemployment rate in 경주시?

The unemployment rate is 2.8 % (2025). Source: 2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey — municipal key employment indicators.

How many foreign residents live in Gyeongju-si?

15,640 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Registered foreigners by local government, March 2026.

Is Gyeongju-si a good place to live?

Gyeongju-si may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

How many people are in the 계 citizenship group in Gyeongju-si?

The official citizenship distribution records 15,621 people (100.0%) in the source-defined population for 2025. This is a citizenship measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Gyeongju-si, South Korea: population, rent, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 0973da2630b5db05c46f0840da05371d]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/kr/gyeongjusi/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_gyeongju-si-south-korea-population-rent-cost-of-living_bf4f52c07f86,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Gyeongju-si, South Korea: population, rent, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {0973da2630b5db05c46f0840da05371d},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/kr/gyeongjusi/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Gyeongju-si, South Korea: population, rent, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/kr/gyeongjusi/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 0973da2630b5db05c46f0840da05371d; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

(월) 평균월세가격_아파트 (Korea Real Estate Board / R-ONE) reb.or.kr · checked 2026-09-28
2024 Air Environment Annual Report — Appendix 1.3 city annual concentrations 2024 Air Environment Annual Report · airkorea.or.kr · checked 2026-07-22
2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey — municipal key employment indicators 2025 H2 Local Area Labour Force Survey · korea.kr · checked 2026-07-22
DT_1JU1501 2024 housing units by municipality kosis.kr · checked 2026-07-22
DT_1JU1512 2024 vacant housing units by municipality kosis.kr · checked 2026-07-22
HIRA 전국 병의원 및 약국 현황 2026.6 — 시설정보 HIRA 전국 병의원 및 약국 현황 2026.6 · opendata.hira.or.kr · checked 2026-09-15
Korea Immigration Service registered foreigners by si/gun/gu and nationality, 2025-12-31 immigration.go.kr · checked 2026-07-22
KOSIS e-RegionIndex doctors per 1000 kosis.kr · checked 2026-07-21
KOSIS e-RegionIndex hospital beds per 100k kosis.kr · checked 2026-07-21
KR-Police-regional-crime-2024 data.go.kr · checked 2026-09-15

Show 13 more sources

KT 100 Mbps internet product.kt.com · checked 2026-09-15
KT mobile data plan product.kt.com · checked 2026-09-15
MOIS resident registration population by si/gun/gu, June 2026 jumin.mois.go.kr · checked 2026-07-21
MOIS resident-registration population, sex and household counts by administrative area, June 2026 jumin.mois.go.kr · checked 2026-07-22
NASA POWER 2024 daily point climate observation for South Korea municipalities power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-07-22
National KIIP operating-institution register socinet.go.kr · checked 2026-09-15
Official KOSIS visual statistics, Korea City Statistics, regional area; joined to the archived MOIS/KOSIS si-gun-gu code and name. kosis.kr · checked 2026-07-15
Registered foreigners by local government, March 2026 immigration.go.kr · checked 2026-07-21
Registered motor vehicles by si, gun and gu stat.molit.go.kr · checked 2026-07-21
Schoolinfo official open-data callback response schoolinfo.go.kr · checked 2026-07-21
Statistics Korea / KOSIS citizenship distribution kosis.kr · checked 2026-08-28
WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station Gyeongju_47283.csv WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
Work24 — 고용복지+센터 institution finder Work24 · work24.go.kr · checked 2026-09-15

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.