You’ll need a phone and a service provider once you have arrived in Korea. Upon your arrival you’ll end up with two options which is bring your own phone or buy a phone from the service provider. Either way, you will have to make a trip to the phone shop and make some tough decisions in order to get phone service.
Your own phone and planning on staying in Korea for short-term.
You can sign up for a prepaid plan with Ntelecom and you pay as you go. They offer various types of phone plans and this is the only option if you don’t have an Alien Registration Card (ARC) in Korea. You charge the money onto your phone and you can charge again before your balance gets diminished. You can still pick up incoming calls for up to 15 days even if you balance is zero.
Alien Registration Card (ARC)
You will need to have your ARC when you sign up for cell phone service in Korea except if you are going for a prepaid plan with Ntelecom. If you do not have your card yet, you will most likely be asked to return at a later time, when you have received it from the immigration office.
Phone needs to be unlocked
You need to have an “unlocked” device that is compatible with the Korean wireless networks for this to work successfully. People coming from abroad usually have their phone locked by default. You’ll need to call your former service provider to get the necessary info to unlock your phone.
3 big service providers
There are 3 main service providers which are SK, KT and LG. The price and the plan do vary but only slightly. LG seems to have the cheapest plan out of all. They all have equally good reception and superior customer service so my advice is to go with the cheapest plan from LG. 5G plans typically start from 60,000 won and up and you can make a pre-authorized payment to your credit card so you don’t have to physically pay the bill every month. However, LG membership card offers the least discount out of the three. Discounts include bakery shops, movie theaters, convenient store, restaurant and etc…
Final thought
Bringing an unlocked phone to Korea will enable you to sign a shorter phone service contract and lower the risk of having to pay early termination fees. Plus, you can use messaging apps until you get phone service.
Purchasing a smartphone in Korea will get you a better monthly rate/package, but you could end up paying penalties if you leave before the contract has finished.
Therefore, if you are staying in Korea for more than 2 years, sign up for a long-term plan and you can get some discount on the newest phones as well as the plan. But if you are staying for less than a year, you are better off just using your own phone.
KoComfort.com can help you get the phone and the phone plan since most of the store clerk don't speak English. We can interpret and give you insights on how to get the best value for your buck!
Comments