Expats happy with life in Seoul

Foreigners walk out of Gyeongbok Palace in this file photo. / Yonhap

Expats in Seoul are happy with the living environment and safety, but experience trouble communicating, a survey shows.

In The Seoul Institute's survey of 25,000 foreigners in Seoul, respondents gave 69.7 out of 100 for the quality of life here.

Highest marks went to the living environment (76 points), followed by safety (74.4 points). The high points for the living environment have been attributed to the city’s convenient public transport system.

Meanwhile, the expats gave 61.7 points for communication.

On average, foreigners found living costs higher than their home country.

Given that living costs in their country is 100, Seoul was rated an average of 132.3 percent.

The Vietnamese rated costs as the highest at 155.9 percent.

Overall, people from Asia rated costs at 167.2 percent, Americans at 104.8 percent and Europeans at 101 percent.