Korean Job Discussion Forums

[seoul101]

Hi,

Could someone recommend where to buy a Mac in Korea? I have my eye on the iMac 20" 2.16Ghz Duo at the moment..

Any guidance on where to get the best price and an English-language one would be great.

Thanks!

[desultude]

There are mac stores in Korea- I know there is one in Daegu- so there must be at least one in Seoul and Busan.

I got my notebook online from Apple.

Of course, then there is the duty problem- but it would probably still be cheaper than buying it there. (I got mine in The States.)

[demaratus]

There is an apple online store for Korea, but its all in Hangeul. I hear there is an apple store in Coex.

[seoul101]

Yeah, I know about those stores, but are they good for prices?

And how about the warranties - are they internationally valid?

Can they install English software if I requested it instead?

Cheers.

[seoulman1]

macshop.co.kr

[oskinny1]

Get one online from the official mac store in Korea. Actually, you need to call them but if you tell them you are a teacher you get a discount which makes it equal to any price you'd pay for in the states. Also, it has English already built in, you get to choose your language when the computer first starts up.

If you don't speak Korean get someone to call for you. It is easy and will be at your door in a couple of days.

Rumor has it that they are announcing a new imac soon (like in August) so if you are not in a hurry you can get either the upgraded version or the current version on the cheap.

[seoul101]

Thanks for the heads up oskinny1, do you know what the rumored upgrade will be? I'm not in any rush so I can wait til August

Also, what kinda discount do they offer for teachers? Sounds good!

[Kimchi Cowboy]

Apple is notoriously (and, one might argue, successfully) secretive when it comes to impending updates to existing product lines. Rumours abound, but one thing is pretty much a lock: Apple is discontinuing the 17" iMac, but will update the 20" and 24" models. How, when, and with what - is anyone's guess. Still, if you say you're not in a rush... wait.

For your reference:

ThinkSecret

AppleInsider

MacRumors (Go to Page 2)

[oskinny1]

With my discount I saved about 100,000 on my Macbook which normally costs 1.3 million (or abouts). I think it is a 5%ish discount.

I think one of the main upgrades will be a brushed metal body in place of the plastic.

[seoul101]

Checked out those rumors.. looks interesting, although I love the way the iMacs look right now - not sure a brushed Aluminium look would be so appealing. Of course hardware upgrades would be welcome...

The 20" 2.16Ghz iMac in the US costs $1499 and in Korea costs 1,660,000KRW ($1800).. even with a 5% discount we're still getting ripped off from buying foreign technology in Korea

[oskinny1]

[printme]

COEX store is gone, right??

[jlb]

I got mine online from auction.co.kr. It was about 100 000 cheaper than the store prices. You'll need a Korean friend to help you though.

[xenok]

the COEX store is still around as an A# store, an authorized reseller. practically everything they carry is Apple related.

i wouldn't worry too much about pricing since Apple are notorious for price fixing... er.. recommending. the nice thing about that is that you don't have to worry about shopping around for a good price. the bad thing is that you can't shop around for a good price. heh.

[the eye]

If you go online (english site) and customize your order, you can phone it in to Apple Korea. They will be able to speak english and they will deliver your iMac at a discount.

I bought mine that way 6 months ago and i think they knocked off 80,000won. It arrived within a week from the assembly plant in Singapore.