Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Trevor]

Here's a story in the Herald today that says you can send money home, I guess avoiding the bank hassles many complain of. Of course who would want to send money home now with the exchange prices so bad.

Cut from today's Herald:

**

Carriers offer foreigner-friendly services





As the expat population grows, an increasing number of companies are targeting the foreign community in Korea. The mobile industry is one sector that has been moving fast, providing services exclusive to non-Korean consumers.

LG Telecom, the smallest of the nation's three mobile carriers, is one such company, endeavoring to outdo its bigger rivals. This month, the operator started offering English-language mobile bills to customers.

The English bills list details of charges such as basic fees and international call fees.

This is the first time a local mobile carrier has provided mobile bills in English. SK Telecom also offers an English bill service on its English website (tworld.co.kr/foreigner), but details of bills are still written in Korean.

LG Telecom also supports multiple languages for its "Korean Dream Phones," handsets tailored to the needs of foreign customers. The nine languages include Korean, English, Chinese and Vietnamese.

LG Telecom also allows its customers to transfer money overseas at more than half the price via handsets. A transfer of up to $50,000 costs a fixed 8,000 won, compared with between 13,000 won and 23,000 won in charges at banks. A transfer of more than 50,000 costs 10,000 won compared with 28,000 won at banks.

To use the service, a mobile banking chip from the Korea Exchange Bank is needed.

Non-Koreans do not have to travel all the way to stores to buy pre-paid international calling cards. They can purchase calling time from their mobile banking service, LG Telecom said.

"LG Telecom will make continuous efforts to offer foreigner-specific services to make it convenient for 220,000 foreigners residing in Seoul to register and use our mobile phone service," said Chun Sung-kyoo, vice president of the operator's corporate business division.

LG Telecom also offers a one-stop service from registration to customer counseling at a service center in central Seoul.

English-proficient employees of LG Telecom work at Seoul Global Center to help non-Koreans register for mobile service and choose calling plans and value-added services. The company also set up hotlines at five Global Villages in Seoul, community centers serving expatriates.

A separate call center is run for natives of Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand and China subscribing to LG Telecom.

SK Telecom also operates a call center in English and Japanese, while KTF offers English, Japanese and Chinese language service at its call center.

LG Telecom signs up expats with just their alien registration cards and bank accounts, unlike rival mobile carriers that require expats to purchase phones with credit or pre-paid cards and make a deposit in advance.

By Jin Hyun-joo

([email protected])








2008.09.25

[JJJ]

Very interesting. Would anyone know what to do next? Do I get a chip first at KEB, then sign up my transfer info at LG? Or do I get the chip and everything at LG? Thanks.

[Trevor]

LG has decent English customer service but I don't have their number handy. They will be able to tell you.

[i_teach_esl]

you can dial 114 on your lg phone for customer service in english. maybe they can tell you? you can also set up your voicemail in english.