Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gqsupersport]

Ok, so I just thought I'd share since there were a few discussions on this board regarding the issue of activating a phone bought outside Korea and there was a lot of info posting but not much first hand experience.

I recently dropped my Berry in a puddle of water (thanks monsoon season) and bricked it. While getting it fixed SK offered me an ancient slider as a temp phone but knowing Blackberry A/S takes around a month for repairs and the fact that I need e-mail for work, I brought in my unlocked Nokia N900 I bought back in Canada.

I took it in to an SK branch and told them I wanted to use this phone in Korea. For those of you who may not know, the rule currently is that every phone model that is not sold in Korea must be cleared by Korean Communications. They have an updated list of all models that have gone through testing and have been cleared so far (the N900 was already tested by someone else so I did not have to get recertification). The only requirement for me was to have the IMEI number registered with SK (this applies to KTF and LGT as well).

10 minutes later the CSR had registered my IMEI number, I put the SK SIM card into my N900 and as soon as I booted up I received a txt saying it was good to go. Full data, MMS, and no hitches. 5 minutes later I received a txt saying BIS had automatically been removed from my plan as I was no longer using a Blackberry and would be restored when I started using a Berry again.

I've heard a lot of horror stories about the complicated procedures of getting a foreign smartphone to work on Korean networks (ESPECIALLY the N900 with MMS problems etc) and I was prepared for the worst but it was such a smooth and painless process I felt compelled to let everyone know. Now I realize my situation was a little different as I was already an SK customer but the process is the exact same for someone who is not an SK customer yet, the only additional step would have been to purchase a SIM card.

Just to summarize:

1) Make sure your phone is unlocked (not even a step really, common sense).

2) Check to see if your phone model has been tested by the KCC (optional step really as the list is very long and even some very niche phones have been tested already, if your phone is a model people have heard of, like you can just say the model name and 1 out of 10 people have heard of it, it'll have been tested).

3) Take it to your local branch office (SK/Tworld, KT/Qook Show, LG/uPlus) and make sure it is a branch office, not simply a retail outlet. The retail outlets are called "daeri-jeom" and the main offices are called "ji-jeom". You want to go to a "ji-jeom". There is usually 1 main "ji-jeom" per city.

4) Ask them to register your IMEI # and either purchase a SIM card or pop in your existing SIM car if you are a customer.


If you have an obscure phone that happens to have not been tested yet, there is an added step in the process that will take about 10 days and requires some paperwork but I won't comment on it as I don't have any first-hand experience going through that process.



Lastly, I'm still debating whether to switch to KT or stick with SK and I'd love some input from anyone who's been with both. I see benefits on both sides but if you care to comment, please post here http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=207892 or at least head on over to vote for SK or KT. Thanks!

[SeoulFinn]

Awesome!


Thanks for the info! I visit Korea quite often a have Nokia n900 just like you do. I was considering about getting Samsung Galaxy S2, but it's good to hear n900 can be used in Korea. There's one thing I'd love to hear you comment about.

I have installed the "Droid Fonts" and can already read most Korean websites. But what about sending and receiving text messages? Are you able to send and receive them, or do they look like some bizarre ASCII art?

It's been a while since I looked for help from maemo.org, but at that time the only way was seemed to be to use CJK input support. Is this what you are using?

Thanks!

EDIT: The blasted USB socket came loose and the phone's already on its way to the shop. Since Nokia doesn't make n900's anymore, looks like I'll get N8 or preferably E7 as a replacement.

[chungbukdo]

If your phone hasn't been tested yet do you have to pay that 300,000 won fee?

[s4yunkim]

[DaHu]

how much is a SIM card?

Now I've just got to find a branch office somewhere

[koreatimes]

[tcboy88]

went to a SKT daeri jeom a few days ago
told the uncle to activate my oversea phone.
he ask me lots of rubbish questions and ask me to bring my korean friend.
At the end I didnt activated my oversea galaxy s.

[tcboy88]

So i finally went to SKT ji jeom few days ago
then activated my phone, it is quite easy as stated by thread starter

I have 2 questions now
1)How to check my SKT prepaid (PPS) balance?
2)How to reload my SKT prepaid after 1 month?
Please give me simple solution as I cannot speak Korean Yet

[Kimchifart]

Thanks so much for this OP.

Question: Do they have rolling monthly contracts they can put you on and are they reasonable? also do they have a pay as you go system that gives you data? Basically I don't want a yearly contract; hate contracts and bills.

[tcboy88]

i think KT have pay as u go data, but i am not sure whether it is available for tablet only or for smartphone too
try asking olleh_expats at twitter or visit http://expatblog.kt.com/

[Drew10]

[cbank30]

great! appreciate the info...

i have some friends planning to come over here and i'll pass the info along to them so they could get their phones situated