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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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KristaLynn
Joined: 22 May 2007
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 Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:16 pm Post subject: This is pathetic, but... (laptops/converters) |
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... Ok, so I'm technologically (in)dependant enough to feel like I should buy a a laptop to bring with me, but illiterate enough that even with searching and reading through all the information on the laptops and converters, I haven't a clue what I should go for.
So, the short of it is that I need to know plainly what I should buy (in the States) as far as it being able to work in Korea, both with the power and Internet. I think I'll end up printing what responses I get out and handing it to someone who DOESN'T look at me like they didn't even know there were such differences (so far, it seems like news to most customer reps. I've asked for help from. Which is sad. Even I knew that much. *sigh*).
And if anyone wants to put any random plugs in for good laptops, I'm game for it, though that's something I think I *can* figure out on my own.  |
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keseki
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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laptop power adapters are dual voltage which means that they will work between 100v and 240v.
The only thing you will need for your laptop is a plug adapter which will change the two or three prong plug into a two prong round plug. This will let you plug it into the power socket (the thing with the holes  ).
In terms of internet, the internet here is the same as it is back home. you plug the ethernet cable into your computer and intraweb! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:19 pm Post subject: Re: This is pathetic, but... (laptops/converters) |
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| KristaLynn wrote: |
... Ok, so I'm technologically (in)dependant enough to feel like I should buy a a laptop to bring with me, but illiterate enough that even with searching and reading through all the information on the laptops and converters, I haven't a clue what I should go for.
So, the short of it is that I need to know plainly what I should buy (in the States) as far as it being able to work in Korea, both with the power and Internet. I think I'll end up printing what responses I get out and handing it to someone who DOESN'T look at me like they didn't even know there were such differences (so far, it seems like news to most customer reps. I've asked for help from. Which is sad. Even I knew that much. *sigh*).
And if anyone wants to put any random plugs in for good laptops, I'm game for it, though that's something I think I *can* figure out on my own. |
All you need for your laptop to work in Korea is a plug adapter. They cost about 500 won ($.50) here.
Just for the record however, for the price you pay for an ENTRY level, low end laptop will buy you a pretty decent desktop system complete with 20" LCD monitor over here.
90% of most laptop users use them as desktops anyway (they plug it in at home and pretty much leave it there).
Unless you truely need the portability (or ego boost) of a having a laptop, buy a desktop over here. You will be money ahead. |
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that guy
Joined: 29 Feb 2004
Location: long gone
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:35 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| All you need for your laptop to work in Korea is a plug adapter. They cost about 500 won ($.50) here. |
Buy one before you come here. I lived in a "small" city of about 300,000 (Gumi) my first year and it took a couple of weeks and a lot of running around to get one.
You can find them anywhere that sells luggage and assorted travel crap. |
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dogshed
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| that guy wrote: |
| ttompatz wrote: |
| All you need for your laptop to work in Korea is a plug adapter. They cost about 500 won ($.50) here. |
Buy one before you come here. I lived in a "small" city of about 300,000 (Gumi) my first year and it took a couple of weeks and a lot of running around to get one.
You can find them anywhere that sells luggage and assorted travel crap. |
Buy a travel kit somewhere like Wal-mart that has a variety of plug adapters and also buy a small power strip. You can then plug more than one item in the power strip while using a single adapter. The other adapters will be handy to have for other countries. I found I mainly
used the power strip as an extension cord in the airports. The chairs are
rarely near the plugs.
Remember the cheap voltage converter that comes with most travel kits is for things like hair driers and should not be used for electronics.
Always read the power supply to make sure it says it will take 210 or 220 volts. Usually it will have a range like 100-220 volts or 110-210 volts.
When I got here the only adapters I could find converted Korean plugs to American plugs. |
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pharflung
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:24 am Post subject: |
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Ttompatz wrote:
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| Just for the record however, for the price you pay for an ENTRY level, low end laptop will buy you a pretty decent desktop system complete with 20" LCD monitor over here. |
The price for an entry level desktop here is double what you would pay in the States. And then when you are leaving Korea, what do you do with it, stuff it in your luggage?
Excuse me if I am wrong, I haven't memorized all the prices, but isn't a 20 inch LCD monitor about 500,000 won at EMart? For that you could buy a nice laptop in the States. That runs Windows in English.
An "entry level" laptop does the job, unless you are a professional game player. Bring one! Bring two!! Bring three!!! If you don't like it, sell it to your co-teacher for what you paid for it. Laptops here start at about $1,000 dollars, and go up from there, at least at the local emart. If you have half a brain, you can find one in the States for about $500. I suspect Ttompatz hasn't been back for awhile.
Splurge and spend $3.50 at Radio Shack and get a adapter plug before you come, especially if you are not a lemming moving to Seoul. Dogshed is right; the adapters most people are referring to actually convert a Korean plug to an American socket, which is totally worthless for us explats.
I gesticulated at the local EMart that the Korean to American adapter was not what I wanted, and that I was looking for an American to Korean adapter. They just laughted and shook their head. Sorry!
If you don't see Caucasians walking around, and they don't sell postcards, WTF would they sell American to Korean adapters for??????
It took me more than 2 months to find someone who could tell me where to buy a plug adapter, and I still haven't been able to find the store. I haven't figured out how to order stuff from Korean websites, and I don't want to ask a co-teacher to help me order a 500 won item. You have to pay for these favors in the long run. And a six pack runs 6,500 won.
I got news for you, Korea doesn't get many tourists, and once you depart from Seoul-land, there ain't many Caucasians.
Which is cool.
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Disclaimer: Don't trust any advice given on this website, especially from spliff. You get what you pay for. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| pharflung wrote: |
Ttompatz wrote:
| Quote: |
| Just for the record however, for the price you pay for an ENTRY level, low end laptop will buy you a pretty decent desktop system complete with 20" LCD monitor over here. |
The price for an entry level desktop here is double what you would pay in the States. And then when you are leaving Korea, what do you do with it, stuff it in your luggage?
ummm.... no, it's not, unless you are doing your computer shopping at a boutique shop or the local e-mart. Entry level systems run about 200- 250k + the monitor (100-150k). If you get a decent desktop system you could re-sell it or you could strip it out of it's case and take it home (easy enough to do). Leave the case and power supply here (bulky and heavy).
Excuse me if I am wrong, I haven't memorized all the prices, but isn't a 20 inch LCD monitor about 500,000 won at EMart? For that you could buy a nice laptop in the States. That runs Windows in English.
The computer shop downstairs in my building is selling core2duo systems for 600k INCLUDING a 20"LCD monitor. Scan back a few posts and you will find the specs and phone number if you want to buy one. (with a GEforce 8500 video card so you CAN use it for gaming).
An "entry level" laptop does the job, unless you are a professional game player. Bring one! Bring two!! Bring three!!! If you don't like it, sell it to your co-teacher for what you paid for it. Laptops here start at about $1,000 dollars, and go up from there, at least at the local emart. If you have half a brain, you can find one in the States for about $500. I suspect Ttompatz hasn't been back for awhile.
ummmm.... was back home last MARCH (2007). Prices are not that different (depending on where you are shopping). Laptops here start at about 600k for a new entry level computer.
Splurge and spend $3.50 at Radio Shack and get a adapter plug before you come, especially if you are not a lemming moving to Seoul. Dogshed is right; the adapters most people are referring to actually convert a Korean plug to an American socket, which is totally worthless for us explats.
I gesticulated at the local EMart that the Korean to American adapter was not what I wanted, and that I was looking for an American to Korean adapter. They just laughted and shook their head. Sorry!
If you don't see Caucasians walking around, and they don't sell postcards, WTF would they sell American to Korean adapters for??????
It took me more than 2 months to find someone who could tell me where to buy a plug adapter, and I still haven't been able to find the store. I haven't figured out how to order stuff from Korean websites, and I don't want to ask a co-teacher to help me order a 500 won item. You have to pay for these favors in the long run. And a six pack runs 6,500 won.
I won't argue with any of this. If you're not a techno geek then finding some of this stuff is tough to do when you first land and your only option is the local e-mart.
I got news for you, Korea doesn't get many tourists, and once you depart from Seoul-land, there ain't many Caucasians.
Which is cool.
=====
Disclaimer: Don't trust any advice given on this website, especially from spliff. You get what you pay for. |
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pharflung
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 11:48 am Post subject: |
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I may be wrong, but it doesn't sound like the OP is the sort of person who will know how to remove a motherboard, cards, cords, etc., buy a new case and power supply for $80 and reassemble the computer back home.
I am not in the market for a computer, so don't take my prices as definitive, but the prices as the local EMart, LotteMart, HiMart, Samsung mart, etc. are all the same: shocking. And no one speaks English. I would assume the specs sheets are in Korean, too. Even most of those little Korean dictionaries cost about 250K and up.
A co-teacher claimed that KT sells a desktop with LCD for 150K with the purchase of high speed internet service. I checked their website's English page and could find nothing. Anyone ever hear of this? I suspect it was a limited time deal, or something for low income students.
Sure, a desktop will perform better than a laptop. But I had both back home, and found I rarely turned on the desktop for the past two years because the laptop was more convenient and quieter.
When you go home if you plan to do any travelling, a laptop will be indispensible these days, especially with all the free wifi in NA.
You can buy a laptop in the states for $400 up, with rebate. Or you can buy a desktop here from a local builder for 300k to 400k, according to ttompatz. Does it have Windows in English, or should you bring an English OS disk with you, for another $90?
Which sounds easier?
You can often find better prices than the first stuff you see at EMart, either elsewhere or at EMart on sale, but it takes time to get oriented. And buying a computer is a lot different than buying a hair dryer.
What I did was ship my LCD over for $30, surface; it runs on 220v. I bought a keyboard with hangul here, plus a new mouse. Carried the laptop, of course. Problem solved.
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Disclaimer: Don't trust any advice given on this website, especially from spliff. You get what you pay for. |
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dogshed
Joined: 28 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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My laptop is kinda big and I don't carry it around everywhere I go but it
is nice to be able to take it if I need to.
When I first got here I set it up next to my desktop at work and used it
to figure out the Korean windows by comparing the two, and at the same
time I could use it instead of my desktop until I figured things out.
You don't want to buy the most advanced thing out there because you
will be paying extra for stuff you don't use, but you don't want to get
the cheapest computer either. It will go out of date faster.
Years ago I lived in a place where the power would sometimes blink
out for a second, and sometimes even go out for a few hours. The laptop
has a built in UPS that doesn't weigh a ton. |
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pharflung
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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Dogshed's right.
And did you know they have a 10 percent sales tax here? I don't know if it is nationwide, but they have it in Jeollanamdo.
So make that 1,100,000 won for a laptop.
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Disclaimer: Don't trust any advice given on this website, especially from spliff. You get what you pay for. |
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Thunndarr
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| pharflung wrote: |
Dogshed's right.
And did you know they have a 10 percent sales tax here? I don't know if it is nationwide, but they have it in Jeollanamdo.
So make that 1,100,000 won for a laptop.
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Did you know that sales tax is already included in the price? |
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pharflung
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, the sales tax here is a bit mysterious.
Sometimes it is included, such as at McDonalds. I got a receipt in English and there it was: Sales tax. But the price charged was what was posted, so it was pre-added; the receipt showed the math. On the other hand, they charge extra for takeout. Go figure.
But whenever I buy anything at EMart or LotteMart it is always tacked onto the price. The first few times this happened it caused sticker shock, until I figured it out. As far as I can tell, it includes food, housewares, electronics, etc.
Restaurants, it seems, include the sales tax in the price.
I asked my co-teacher about the sales tax, and he responded "What sales tax?"
If someone here understands the sales tax, please explain it to me. |
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kprrok
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Location: KC
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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The sales tax is included in the sticker price on probably more than 90% of consumer goods. It's called the VAT (value added tax) like they have in Europe.
The charge for the takeout you mentioned is 100 won for the cup. They charge that b/c they don't get the recycling fee if you take the cup. It's all about paying for the trash.
I still say you're best bet is to come over, bring some software if you have it, and buy a cheap desktop here. If you need help, ask on this board and someone can help you easily.
KPRROK |
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Thunndarr
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Pharflung, I can honestly say that about 99% of the stores I buy from have the sales tax included in the price, including E-Mart, Hi-Mart, Lotte Mart, and pretty much every other retail chain I've shopped at in this country. The exception to this rule seems to be expensive restaurants, which can add on the VAT as well as a 10% gratuity onto your tab. |
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kigolo1881
Joined: 30 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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OP, check with your employer and see if they will provide you with a computer in your apt.
Most likely it will be in korean, but for the basics that you'll use it for, it wont be too complicated. |
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