84㎡ Apartment Remodeling Cost in Korea: Line-by-Line Budget by Grade (2026)

In Korea, the apartment people call a "34-pyeong" unit usually has an exclusive floor area of about 84㎡. That is the single most common apartment size in the country, so it is the best reference point for remodeling budgets. This guide runs the K Real Estate remodeling estimator for an 84㎡ unit with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The unit prices are estimates of average Seoul-area market rates as of October 2026. Real quotes depend on the condition of the unit, the brands you choose and each contractor's margin, so treat these numbers as the skeleton of your budget and confirm them with on-site quotes from two or three contractors.

A quick note on terms: "pyeong" (평) is a traditional Korean area unit of about 3.3㎡. Listings often quote the supply area, which includes a share of hallways and stairwells, while remodeling work is measured on the exclusive area you actually live in.

Total cost at a glance

The figures below include site overhead (7%) and VAT (10%). A contingency reserve is extra.

• Wallpaper and floor only: vinyl (silk) wallpaper and a PVC vinyl floor sheet, with partial demolition and disposal
• Move-in basic refresh: silk wallpaper, laminated wood flooring (gangmaru), basic LED lights, new outlets and switches, and a film refresh on the room doors
• Full remodel: all 12 work categories, from demolition, windows, electrical, two bathrooms and the kitchen to tiles, an entry partition door, five room doors, wallpaper, flooring, lighting and balcony painting

In the estimator, Seoul prices run about 8% above Gyeonggi·Incheon, and other regions about 8% below.

Standard full remodel, line by line (Gyeonggi·Incheon)

Here is the most-asked scenario broken down by work category. Each line combines materials and labor, before overhead and VAT.

The standout is that windows take roughly 38% of the construction cost. The two bathrooms come next at about 20%, followed by the kitchen and wallpaper. If your budget is tight, the biggest single decision is whether to replace the windows at all.

How the quantities are calculated

The estimator derives quantities from the exclusive area. If a contractor's quote shows very different square meters, ask how they measured.

• Flooring: exclusive area × 0.92 (bathrooms and entry excluded), about 77㎡
• Wallpaper: exclusive area × 3.0 (walls plus ceilings), about 252㎡
• Entry and balcony tiles: exclusive area × 0.08, about 6.7㎡
• Balcony painting: exclusive area × 0.2, about 17㎡
• Kitchen: one set for 84㎡, scaled between 0.75 and 1.4 sets for other sizes

Overhead, VAT and contingency: the lines people forget

Adding up the work lines alone understates what you will actually pay. For the standard full remodel in Gyeonggi·Incheon:

1. Construction subtotal: KRW 45.71M–62.04M
2. Site overhead and management, 7%: KRW 3.20M–4.34M (supervision, consumables, hauling, cleaning)
3. VAT, 10%: KRW 4.89M–6.64M (charged on subtotal plus overhead)
4. Total: KRW 53.81M–73.02M
5. Recommended contingency, 10%: KRW 5.38M–7.30M, for leaks, old pipes or uneven floors discovered after demolition

Some contractors offer a discount if you pay cash without VAT. Be careful: without a tax invoice or cash receipt it is harder to prove the contract in a defect dispute, and you may lose evidence for deductible expenses when you later sell. Our tax calculator shows how capital gains tax is estimated.

Comparing price per pyeong

The estimator's per-pyeong figure uses the exclusive area (84㎡ ≈ 25.4 pyeong). A standard full remodel works out to about KRW 2.12M–2.87M per exclusive pyeong. Divide the same total by the 34-pyeong supply area and it looks like KRW 1.58M–2.15M. Contractors may use either basis, so compare totals and line items rather than a single per-pyeong number.

Living in the unit and regional differences

If you stay in the apartment during the work, moving and protecting your belongings adds about 8% to labor and about 30% to the schedule. A standard full remodel in Gyeonggi·Incheon is KRW 53.81M–73.02M and 19–26 working days in an empty unit, but KRW 55.11M–74.79M and 25–33 working days if you live there. Whenever possible, do a full remodel before you move in.

Practical ways to cut the cost

1. Decide on windows based on condition. Dropping only the windows from the standard full remodel brings the Gyeonggi·Incheon total down to KRW 32.82M–44.53M. If you have little condensation or draft, windows can wait.
2. Downgrade only the expensive categories. Basic-grade windows, bathrooms and kitchen with everything else at standard comes to KRW 39.47M–54.33M. Keeping standard flooring and wallpaper, which you see and touch every day, tends to keep satisfaction high.
3. Consider an overlay bathroom refresh. If there is no leak history and the tiles are firmly attached, tiling over the existing surface is cheaper and faster than a full strip-out. Just know that it does not create a new waterproofing layer.
4. Do it all at once while the unit is empty. Splitting work into several rounds repeats demolition, protection and disposal costs.
5. Check unit prices yourself. The material price table lists material and labor costs by grade. Ask about any quote line that falls far outside those ranges.
6. Get two or three quotes on identical terms. Same work, grades and quantities, or the comparison is meaningless. Post your project on remodeling contractor matching to receive several proposals, and read our interior contract checklist before signing.