Seoul ranks the world's 8th most expensive city to live

Seoul has ranked the world's 8th most expensive city to live in, while infamous Tokyo known for its high living expenses has ranked 11th.

According to the "Worldwide Cost of Living (WCL) Report," released Thursday by the Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU), which is an affiliated agency of the Economist, Seoul has been tied for 8th out of 133 cities.

The EIU remarked, "Expensive Japanese cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, which have been some of the most expensive cities to live in over the last 20 years, are falling in the ranking. However, Seoul, which was 36th five years ago, is now in the top ten."

Among 133 cities, groceries and clothing are most expensive in Seoul. Among Asian cities, Singapore has been the top over the last three years. Hong Kong has been tied for 9th with Seoul last year but jumped to 2nd this year. The most expensive city in the survey made five years ago, Tokyo has ranked 11th with Shanghai.

권재현기자 confetti@donga.com