Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hochhasd]

Is basic Internet service offered in Korea without phone service and roughly how much does it cost a month? If phone service is required for basic Internet service how much would the basic phone service a month cost?
I know Verizon offers basic Internet service in the United States without phone service.

[jadarite]

I have a cable box here, so it's more of an issue of cable TV and internet but I don't have the box for the tv.

You may want to go that route if you don't need a phone. The cost is about 30,000 won I think. I am still waiting for my first bill. The school has to sort out previous bills.

[hochhasd]

I heard that you could get the slower speed internet for $8.00 a month. I gather this has to be done through the phone company? That is why I was asking if I need the basic phone service( how much a month and do I need to pay deposit or a month in advance) to get the slower Internet service.
Thanks

[jadarite]

I don't think you have to pay anything in advance, it's not like getting an apartment. I don't think it's a good idea to get a slower connection. If you are looking to save money, find a neighbor who will pay half the bill and get a router.

Schools have internet too, and the 2 I have been at have allowed me to use their computers. So, if you are only looking to check email and visit a few sites, I don't think you would even need internet at home.

[hochhasd]

I sounds like a great idea. I am looking for cheaper service so I am able to check my email from home or respond to an email. I still plan on using the my computer at the school during the day with the wireless connection.
The idea that you have about sharing service sounds ok, but I would have to know someone reliable enough to pay the bill each month.
Thanks

[jadarite]

What you could do is have them pay the first month, then agree to pay the second month. So, if they ever stop paying, you can cancel your account and only lose half a month's worth of payment.

[moosehead]

the phone is cheap it's the internet that's expensive -

I pay 50k/month for DSL wireless anywhere in K as long as KT has a connection - 5K a month for a phone

[i_teach_esl]

i live in anyang, and i use... tbroad, i think it's called. no phone, but i have internet and cable tv, for 44 a month. do you live in an apt? an officetel? is someone around (the adjoshhi at the door, the landlord, a neighbor) for you to talk to about what most people in your area use?

[icicle]

Which country are you from? One thing to know about Korea is that it does have the most widely available broadband Internet in the world ... And the cost of it is much much cheaper than many other western countries. Basically when buildings are build they are usually built with cabled internet/tv built in ... so Internet is usually in no way tied to the phone line as is the case in many areas in other western countries. The cost is also much much cheaper. I gather from your questions that you are not here yet. But you may well find that interent/tv are already connected when you first get to your apartment. If it isn't it can usually be connected within a day at the most when you arrange for it. And your school or another Korean speaking friend will be able to help you arrange it easily. Not so easy to do if you don't speak Korean. Last year I paid a total of 27,000 a month for both unlimited fast broadband and cable TV. This year I don't pay anything because it is included with my accommodation (I am at a different school in Seoul now. Last year I was in a school in Gyeongg do). You will find that you are very very glad to have it at home. I use mine a lot. One useful thing is the ability to make free / or very cheap calls using Skpe to both local and overseas numbers. You will also find that in Korea having a mobile/cell phone is almost essential. People do tend to use them all the time and will ask you for your cell phone number all the time.

[hochhasd]

I appreciate the information. I guess I am looking to save the most that I can while I am over in Korea. I am not the type of person that spends all my time on the Internet other than getting information now or when I was in college doing a research paper. With that said, what seems interesting is the idea of saving on long distance phone calls. The problem I experienced with skype is when I ask numerous questions about their cellular service( phone to phone) they never got back to me and I also read on their board that the existing customers are not happy with their service at all.
You mention cable television, what does the local stations offer other than Korean networks? Do they only offer Armed Forces Network? Would I be able to get real basic service and how much would this cost?

[agoodmouse]

What's faster? KT, Hanaro, Tbroad...? I have KT. My internet tops out at around 650 kilobytes per second, and I've got a 50 kilobyte upload speed.

[OiGirl]

I have DSL through Korea Telecom and no phone service.

[Zyzyfer]

[icicle]

What you get with your cable TV does depend upon which company you are with and which plan you are on. AFN is not part of any of the cable offerings anymore (or should not be). Those cable companies who were illegally broadcasting it stopped towards the end of last year.

I know that last year I was happy to pay a little bit more to get a couple of extra channels which had English language programs ... And out of my monthly salary paying 27,000 won altogether was not that big an amount. I know I really did appreciate the opportunity I had both from it and from downloading other things from the Internet gave me to listen to English programs. If you take a cheap cable option you are likely to only have Korean language programs.

But you do know what is most important to you ... but to me there are a lot of better ways to save much more money than you will save by doing without Internet and Cable TV. Especially when you consider that you are talking about in the realm of $30 a month in a salary of at least $2000.

I have used Skype as my main means of contact with family overseas. I have talked both from computer to computer and computer to landline/mobile phones and very rarely had any problem at all with the call quality. No difference to me from talking on the phone. My father in Australia uses it widely because it is a lot cheaper than STD (long distance) calls if he is calling a landline phone. I like the fact that it is free computer to computer and very cheap computer to landline (I think the last time I checked for me it was 2.7c a minute for normal calls anywhere - and it takes me a long time to use up the $16 or so credit I put on)

[I_Am_The_Kiwi]

my internet bill is 8,000 a month. Its kinda set through our apartment complex, but its still fast as fuuck. like 50MB/s or something...

you can spend up more for the extra speed, but ill put it this way.
I play on line games on servers in australia and NZ, and download torrents all at the same time with no slow down.