press rank #62 · ~$1,500/mo

Can you live unwatched in South Korea?

Hyper-connected and hyper-recorded: resident number for everything.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance2/5
Facial recognition2/5
No national ID1/5
Data-protection law4/5
Encryption3/5
VPN freedom4/5
Democracy4/5
Free expression3/5
Cash still works2/5
Financial privacy2/5
Crypto freedom3/5
Easy to stay3/5
Off-grid living2/5
20 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #62 ~$1,500/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

The national programme is free, and the school entry check covers four vaccines.

If you skip them: A fine, and proof is checked when a child starts primary school.

Exemptions: The law names none.

Source: Georgetown AMP EID, survey of national legislation, 2024

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

Extradition treaty with the US

No tax on crypto capital gains

No capital gains tax on crypto for individuals as of 2026; repeated legislative attempts to introduce one have been delayed.

4 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

22 real places in South Korea

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

Seoul

~$1,800/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Busan

~$1,600/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Daegu

~$1,800/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Daejeon

~$1,850/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Gwangju

~$1,750/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Suwon

~$1,850/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Jeonju

~$1,550/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Jeju Island

~$1,700/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Chuncheon

~$1,600/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Suncheon

~$1,500/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Gyeongju

~$1,600/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Geoje

~$1,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Weigh South Korea against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where South Korea actually ranks.

Browse every place

Not just privacy?

Arcadia matches the same real places against how you actually want to live: weather, cost, healthcare, schools, internet.

Find where to live on Arcadia

Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.