Korean Job Discussion Forums

[brittlowe]

Hey, I know I've seen people ask about this before. But technology changes so quickly, I don't think its bad to post another discussion:

I currently have an iPhone 3G with AT&T, and I want to upgrade to the iPhone 4. But if I'm moving in August, it doesn't seem worth it because of the two year contract.
Is there any way to break this contract?
Can I even use the American iPhone 4 when I get there? Or is it a total hassle to jailbreak, and register the phone?
Does Korea have iPhone 4 that I can get for a reasonable price and bring it back to use it here in the US?

Any info would be superb!

And on technology, does anyone have a Mac computer over there? I know sometimes they can be a bit tricky to deal with in foreign countries because they aren't as popular. Thoughts?

[Captain Marlow]

yes they have iphone 4g here... you'll pay an arm & a leg for it though... even with a contract, they quoted me 900,000 won

i have a macbook... i'm in daegu and it's no problem getting it serviced... you get a 3 year warranty for it in country but only a year out of country if you bought it in korea... but you can buy the insurance package and upgrade to a 3 year warranty worldwide...

get a mac for sure... when you're here, you'll most likely be downloading a ton of torrent files... few of these have viruses aimed at macs...

and an aside... korea is not a third world country... you can get just about anything here, but may have to pay a bit more because of luxury taxes, etc.

[CarolinaTHeels]

let me get this straight...

it cost 900 bucks to get an Iphone4 in SoKo?!?!?

[ahsieee]

my friend jailbroke her iphone when she got here
it was done quickly, and it wasn't too expensive

i can find out the details for you if you want!
i know she did in gangnam, but i don't know specifically...

and i have the iphone 4, which i got here..
they quoted 800,000
i plan on being here for a while, so i'm paying for it with my monthly bill

[CarolinaTHeels]

Are these high prices with or without a new contract?!?!?

You can get a new iphone4 for 200 in the US with a new contract, surely you can get a somewhat reasonable similar deal in Korea?!?!?

[SeoulNate]

Well, his post was a little misleading.

In the US or Canada, when you sign up for a 2 year plan the cell phone company will subsidize the cost of the cell phone so you end up paying 200-300 $$ instead of the 700$ they really cost.

Here in Korea you will pay the full price of the phone (which is the same here as if you ordered an unlocked phone on amazon) and your monthly plan will be subsidized by 10-20$ per month depending on your plan. In addition, you do not pay for the phone upfront, you will pay monthly installments.

Considering a 2 year commitment either way, the cost comes out to be about the same thing. However, each year that you keep the phone in Korea after that you will end up having lower bills than in the US or Canada.

Also, rate plans here are much cheaper. Unlimited data and a good number of minutes and messages is only around 55,000. Half of what it would be back home.

[brittlowe]

Yea I'm surprised by all the high prices! I would def like to get some details about jailbreaking the phone. If I could get it here for cheaper, that'd be awesome! I'm assuming I'd be able to use it with wireless to cut down the price of my monthy it I end up stuck in a 2 year w AT&T.

Would you recommend getting a Mac before I leave or buying one there?

[CarolinaTHeels]

So what would be the better option price wise?

Buy a Iphone4 in the US then cancel contract and unlock it to use in Korea

or

Buy one in Korea.

Seems like it would be cheaper and less hassle to just fork out the 700 or 800 bucks up front if the monthly cost is only 55 bucks compared to 80-100 in the US. But did you say we dont pay upfront?

Im confused lol

[shostahoosier]

[SeoulNate]

Much better to get it here if you plan on staying for at least a year.

You can pay for the phone upfront, but usually it is paid in monthly installments over a 2 year period of time. However, you can pay it off whenever you want.

Also, as soon as you finish paying off the phone you can get it unlocked. So, lets say that you work here for one year and decide to go home or elsewhere, you can pay off the rest of what you owe on the phone, unlock it and take it with you.

[SeoulNate]

[CarolinaTHeels]

What if you purchase a macbookpro online and just have it shipped to you instead of buying it at a store in Korea?

If it is still more expensive that way I guess I will just have my parents buy it back home and mail it to me.

[Sticks]

Import tax. Anything over $150 going into Korea through the post will get slapped with customs duties and import tax. It'd be better to buy it there, then take it with you on the plane.

Also for the phone; I don't know whether you guys are getting ripped off because of not knowing or if rules are different for the iPhone (haha) but i'm paying off my Galaxy S2 from the subsidised price. ~190,000won (instead of the full 800,000 or so) over two years, i'm paying 55,000won/month for the rate plan, 7-8000won/month for the phone plus optional insurance 4000won/month. Of course if I leave Korea early then i'd have to pay off the rest of the phone.

[Drew10]

Wow, you guys really need to deal with a better crop of phone sales people.

The high 800-900k prices they're quoting you are FACTORY prices. You of course get a subsidized END price after you complete your 2 year contract. The phone is broken down into installation payments over 2 years so you don't pay upfront.

The end price depends on which plan you sign up for.

For example, iPhone 4 - 16GB

Factory Price - 814k

With I-Value (55k per month) End price - 211k
With I-Medium (65k per month) End Price - 134k
with I-Special (79k per month) End price - 52k
With I-Premium (95k per month) End price - 0.
(these end prices are from memory and may be a few 전원 off).

So divide that end price by 24 and add it to your bill (55k,65k, ETC) add 10% VAT to that and you can calculate your total monthly bill.

So in essence, It can be cheaper to get an iPhone 4 here if you plan on staying the entire 2 years.

[akcrono]

I was about to post on that Drew. I didn't have the numbers you do, but I knew you can save a lot on a long term contract.