Korean Job Discussion Forums

[southside]

Recently, South Korea has been doing so above-the-top tweaking with its Internet services that are particularly prone at its foreign residents becoming muddled in the mire of Internet confusion and impossibility. For more on such changes you can take a look here: http://www.koreainformationsociety.com/2013/07/microsofts-active-x-is-black-hole-in.html.

As for me, I've found it virtually impossible for my credit cards to work on any sites. I've gone to 2 separate banks on 2 separate occasions, spending 3 hours on both trips talking to befuddled attendants who swear that my cards have no problem, that they are fully registered to be used abroad. Yet, even while showing the attendants the impossibility of using the cards on several sites (GRE, Apple, G-market, E-mart) that I have verified proof in the system of having used before, I was told that the cards are not the problem.

I've attempted to register for the foreigner i-Pin service, which apparently doesn't work because of a website problem (I've used 8 different computers thus far). Because my bank account authorization code is connected to my cell phone, I'm forced to use the UBI key program which apparently costs $9 US for a one-year subscription. I clicked OK. The program then asked to verify my credit card 3-digit verification code, which I thought would be impossible because the card isn't working. Low and behold it took $1 from my account (I'm using iPhone 5) and then said that there was an error with downloading the program (several times).

[Jake_Kim]

May I assume you've made all the efforts while running Internet Explorer 'as administrator'? This is achieved by SHIFT + right-click, then you select 'Run as administrator', often with a yello-blue shield icon.
I run IE8 and suffer no trouble with those ActiveX stuffs, but that's only because I tweaked the setting and have refused to upgrade to IE9 or above for so long. That may not be an option for many people now.
One more thing that comes to my mind is the '안심클릭' credit card authorization plug-in, you must go through the initial setup with your bank to have it loaded up properly when you're paying for something later. Some other cards such as BC use a whole different system called ISP, that's another dimension of setups to go through.
I've never used the UBI key stuff for fear of loosing or damaging my cell phone at some critical moment, so I wouldn't even comment on that system.

[Popocatepetl]

[PeteJB]

Ugh, the plague that is the Korean intranet and it's terrible security plugins. It's high time the government did something about this as it's really choking Korean development with regards to online software and e-commerce.

[Popocatepetl]

[Drew345]

I remember calling the bank helpline to get help on using the online website and the phone assistant saying "the English site really doesn't work so well, let me guide you through what to do on the Korean site." I was like, "Thank you, it is so refreshing to finally here an organization admit that, thank you."

[PigeonFart]

[quote="Popocatepetl"] [quote="PeteJB"]

How anti-foreign can you get?

Its as if some co**blocker had decided to sabotage contacts between korean women and foreign men by thwarting communications. I'm surprised they haven't designed korean cellphones to hangup at the sound of a foreign voice.[/quote]

lol

[Squire]

[PigeonFart]

I can never seem to quote someone successfully. You can see i tried to quote someone 2 posts above, but their quote didn't appear in a white box like it should have. What am i doing wrong?

[premiummince]

They work fine, you just have to register with the company and your bank. Sometimes you'll need to send them a fax of your ID and your credit card.

[Underwaterbob]

My banking app recently forced me to install Ahnlab on my phone. Given their absolute shite software V3's track record on my school computers, I'm somewhat less than enthused about this. Didn't someone say that Ahnlab had been known to accept bribes to let your malware/adware through their software?

[Weigookin74]

[Gravity Wins]

It seems Internet Explorer on a PC is the norm for Korean websites. But I'm wondering if anyone has found a work-around method of buying items online using a Mac. I've considered installing a Windows operating system, but that's too much hassle for something I'm not sure would work in the end. PC Bang the only way to go?

[mayorhaggar]

I do all my Korean website stuff on the computers at work only. I refuse to let my own computer touch the infested mess that is Korean websites. Every site you go to wants you to use IE, and forces you to download "security programs" which are just corporate malware and spyware. They say it's for security but it's just so they can make more pop-up ads show up on your computer. Koreans don't know any better because the media lies to them and that Ahn guy is really wealthy and powerful so he must know what he's doing. Use any Korean's computer and it's full of bloatware with pop-ups galore. There's usually at least three "anti-virus" programs running at the same time.

The state of the internet here is laughable. Yeah, everyone has a smartphone and there's wi-fi everywhere, but Korean websites and web security are stuck in the late 90's. You'd expect a modernization program would really reap benefits, but as we all know Koreans do not change behavior easily or quickly. They are satisfied with basing their economy on taking other countries' inventions and improving them and selling them for cheaper. They aren't as concerned with maintaining and reinventing the internet, which is a staple of the US economy.

[NohopeSeriously]

When the the top government brass dealing with the national internet policies don't even know how to use a computer (and they're all in their 50s), what do you expect from them?