Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EmGen]

So I can't seem to find any good info on this:

I'm returning to Korea in about a week. I really want to get the iPhone 4, and I was planning on buying it in Korea. Now, however, I'm finding out that it's absurdly expensive there and they don't even sell it to most foreigners.

I was thinking, instead, about picking up the Verizon iPhone 4 before I go over there, but this plan seems to leave a lot to be desired also. It seems the Verizon iPhone 4 is very difficult to unlock (impossible?), so unlocking it and using the new foreigner plan might not be an option.

I've considered just using the Verizon plan, but the roaming rates in Korea look to be absurdly expensive (like $2 a minute). And I don't think Verizon offers the iPhone as part of its global phone setup.

Anything I've missed here that I should consider? Any good and moderately priced way to get the Verizon iPhone 4 working in Korea for a year? I probably wouldn't be using it as a phone THAT often (mainly just to call my girlfriend and friends), I can use skype on my computer to call my family and to call people from my apartment. Maybe I could just solely use the skype app on the iPhone for calling? Not sure how expensive that data plan would be, though....

Any help would be appreciated.

[banjois]

They just made getting an iPhone way easier for foreigners. I picked one up the other day. For the phone, you pay 17,000/month for two years. If you cancel before then, you pay 40,000 per remaining month. I got a plan with 300 minutes, 300 texts, and unlimited data for 55,000/month. No contract, you can cancel whenever. All in all, seems like a decent deal....

[s4yunkim]

It used to be hard for foreigners to get phones as a foreigner, but that is certainly not the case anymore. Visit one of the KT Global Stores after you get your Alien Registration Card, and they'll get you set up with an iPhone 4. You also get the exact same pricing as Koreans do too! ^^

List of KT Global Stores: http://expatblog.kt.com/category/List%20of%20KT%20Global%20Stores


I'm Chris, the manager of the Expat Marketing Team at KT, and I also run a twitter account to help audit issues in which foreigners have trouble getting phones, because it certainly should not be any harder for us (I'm a foreigner too).

If you have any issues, shoot me a message on twitter at @olleh_expats.

Hope to see you soon!

[red_devil]

Also it's not "absurdly expensive" it's about the same price actually.

[darkjedidave]

The Verizon iPhone 4 uses CDMA and will not work in Korea. An AT&T iPhone with a SIM card can be unlocked to work in Korea.

[canada42]

[Morticae]

Edit: Nevermind!

Anybody know SK Telecom policies on phones for foreigners? The Samsung Galaxy S2 that was announced looks awfully nice.

[jondepoer]

So 17,000 + 55,000: 72,000

This would be extremely attractive if I could eliminate my home internet subscription and tether the iPhone to a wireless router. Anyone know if that's possible?

[kprrok]

[andyrider]

[daisydew]

I am on an F4 visa and i'm lucky enough to have relatives who purchased my iphone 4 under their name

but now i'm trying to set it up and it wants to use my USA itunes account (had the 3gs before i left), is that possible? it's making me set up but when i put in the 8 digit phone number, it's not letting me go. do i have to set up an email for the korean app store? will those apps be in english?

[cyui]

Yes, so if F-4's can't even get a contracted phones' ( and they are not even really considered "foreigners')

What is it going to be like for an E-2, who really is a foreigner?

:shock:

[PhillyPK]

[Vimfuego]

[thurst]

i walked into the kt global store in itaewon last saturday night and walked out with a smartphone within 45 mins. had a choice between the iphone 4, sky vega xpress and the galaxy k. they had just got the new nexus phone in but it wasn't going on sale until monday or something. all you need is your ARC and possibly passport depending on what you used to set up your bank account, you're fine if you remember the passport number though.