This report covers data from 1,012 Korean Airbnb listings tracked between December 2025 and May 2026. It's written for new hosts evaluating market entry, bloggers / journalists / researchers who need citable Korea Airbnb data, and anyone trying to size the opportunity honestly. Every table cites the sample size and source. Re-use is welcome.
https://price-bnb.com/blog/korea-airbnb-pricing-benchmark-2026.
One-line summary
H1 2026 Korean Airbnb: median ₩3.6M/mo revenue, 58% average occupancy. Three-tier weekday/Friday/weekend pricing is the common pattern of top-quartile hosts. For new entrants, net-revenue math favours Hongdae / Itaewon over Gangnam in Seoul.
1. Monthly revenue distribution (overall market)
| Quantile | Monthly gross | Net (est. 45%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | < ₩500k (~$360) | ~ ₩230k |
| Bottom 25% | ₩900k – ₩2.2M ($650-$1,580) | ₩410k–990k |
| Median | ₩3.6M (~$2,600) | ₩1.62M (~$1,170) |
| Top 25% | ₩5.2M – ₩7.8M ($3,700-$5,600) | ₩2.34M–3.51M |
| Top 10% | ₩8.8M+ (~$6,300+) | ₩3.96M+ (~$2,850+) |
| Top 5% | ₩11.2M+ (~$8,000+) | ₩5.04M+ (~$3,620+) |
Net ratio of 45% reflects rental + outsourced cleaning scenarios (PriceBnb host survey, n=84). Owner-operated + self-cleaning runs 60-65% net.
2. ADR + occupancy by region (top 4 metros)
| Region | Sample n | Weekday ADR | Friday ADR | Weekend ADR | Avg occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seoul | 387 | ₩158k | ₩205k | ₩248k | 69% |
| Busan | 202 | ₩132k | ₩178k | ₩228k | 63% |
| Jeju | 241 | ₩175k | ₩275k | ₩355k | 54% (seasonal) |
| Gangneung / Sokcho | 98 | ₩145k | ₩235k | ₩345k | 49% (seasonal) |
| Daejeon / Yeosu / Gyeongju / others | 84 | ₩118k | ₩168k | ₩208k | 52% |
3. The Friday premium — the single most-missed lever
Share of analysed listings that price Friday the same as a weekday: 47%.
Revealed-preference Friday willingness-to-pay vs weekday: +22% to +28%.
About half the market is leaving ~20% of Friday revenue on the table by default.
Friday premium by region (actual data)
| Region | Friday / weekday ratio |
|---|---|
| Seoul | +29.7% |
| Busan | +34.8% |
| Jeju | +57.1% |
| Gangneung / Sokcho | +62.1% |
4. Cleaning fee distribution
| Region | Median cleaning | Top 25% |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul | ₩45,000 | ₩70,000 |
| Busan | ₩40,000 | ₩65,000 |
| Jeju | ₩60,000 | ₩95,000 |
| Gangneung / Sokcho | ₩55,000 | ₩90,000 |
Listings charging cleaning fees above ₩70,000 receive 1-2 night bookings ~18 percentage points less often than those below — there's a real trade-off between cleaning-fee push and occupancy drag.
5. Superhost share + revenue impact
- Superhost rate across sample: 22.4%
- Avg occupancy lift (Superhost vs non-Superhost): +14.3 percentage points
- Avg ADR lift: +9.7%
- Combined monthly revenue lift: +34.5%
6. Three-tier pricing adoption by revenue quartile
| Revenue quartile | 3-tier adoption |
|---|---|
| Bottom 25% | 22% |
| Middle 25-75% | 48% |
| Top 25% | 76% |
| Top 10% | 89% |
Three-tier pricing adoption rises sharply with revenue quartile. Correlation r = 0.71 — strong, but causation isn't proven.
5 takeaways
- Median monthly revenue is ₩3.6M (~$2,600) with effective hourly rate of ₩20-25k ($14-18). The "earn ₩10M / $10k a month" framing is the top 8-12% — not the average new villa.
- 47% of listings don't apply a Friday premium. Single most common loss source; trivially fixable.
- Jeju, Gangneung, and Sokcho are very seasonal. July-August matters more than the annual average. Mis-priced peak season can erase 50-60% of annual revenue.
- Superhost adds +34.5% monthly revenue. First three months' review quality is the highest-ROI activity.
- Three-tier pricing is the clearest marker of top-quartile hosts. 89% adoption in top 10%. If you don't split weekday/Friday/weekend, fix that first.
Methodology + limitations
- Sample: 1,012 Korean listings (Seoul 387, Busan 202, Jeju 241, Gangneung/Sokcho 98, other 84)
- Window: Dec 2025 — May 2026 (6 months)
- Source: RapidAPI Airbnb19 (public Airbnb data)
- Net ratio: rental + outsourced cleaning scenario (PriceBnb host survey, n=84)
- Limit: estimated revenue is exposure × occupancy × ADR; ±25% deviation from real individual listing revenue is possible
- Limit: unregistered rural + 한옥 (hanok) stay segments are under-represented
Re-use / citation
Tables and figures are free to cite or republish with attribution (CC BY 4.0 equivalent). For follow-up data requests, email support@price-bnb.com.
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PriceBnb Korea Airbnb Pricing Benchmark 2026. Last updated 2026-06-09. All figures are data-grounded estimates; individual results vary by listing, season, and operating quality.