Software Engineer Salary: Seoul vs San Francisco
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇰🇷 Seoul
South Korea
₩65.0M KRW
$49K USD
$79K PPP
VS
USD Difference
-74%
Seoul vs San Francisco
🇺🇸 San Francisco
United States
$185K USD
$185K USD
$185K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Seoul | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | ₩65.0M KRW | $185K USD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $49K | $185K | -74% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $79K | $185K 🏆 | -57% |
| 25th Percentile | ₩52.0M KRW | $148K USD | — |
| Median | ₩65.0M KRW | $185K USD | — |
| 75th Percentile | ₩81.3M KRW | $231K USD | — |
| Annual Mean | ₩70.2M KRW | $200K USD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Seoul offers a Software Engineer salary of $49K USD, while San Francisco offers $185K USD — a difference of -74% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Seoul's salary is worth $79K in US purchasing power terms, versus $185K for San Francisco. This means San Francisco offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.