Korean Job Discussion Forums

[amcnutt]

I was wondering what types of phones are most economical and handy to have in Seoul.
I was thinking of just getting a landline in my apartment, and use calling cards to phone home (Canada).
Are cell phones needed or expensive in korea? what is your monthly plan like, on average cost?
i'm not sure if i'm going to get a cellphone or not when i'm there. using the cell to call home would be very expensive probably, huh?
could some people let me know what they use over there, if you just have a landline, or both, or just a cell?

[jvalmer]

I say just go for the cell phone. If you're unwilling to pay a few hundred for a new cell phone, you could probably find someone leaving willing to unload their phone.

[amcnutt]

How much do you spend on your cellphone, per month on average?
Do you call home using calling cards?
I want to do whatever is cheapest

[jvalmer]

I don't call home. Pay around 20,000-won/month. Paid 350,000-won for the phone had if for 4 years now.

[Senior]

You need a cell phone. I wouldn't bother with a land line unless it comes as a package deal with your cable and internet (or some such). Just use skype for international calls.

[crossmr]

you can get an unlimited north american calling package for $6 or $7/month with skype. No need for calling cards.

[gyopoh]

heres a series of cell phone questions.

1. can an f4 visa holder get an iphone?
2. how much do typical iphone contracts cost?
3. where can i get a sausage stylus? lol

[emacs]

Not sure this has been discussed. This might help you.
http://iphoneinkorea.com/foreigners-and-iphone-in-korea/

[gyopoh]

cool! that helps =). any word on whether the 4g is coming in june when its released in the states?

[miiooan]

If you're in Seoul, I would suggest going to Seoul Global Center to get hooked up with a cell phone. When I went, they charged me 50,000w for a new phone + 1 year contract. I started on a 13,000w contract, and I decided to bump up to a 50,000w plan because I discovered this service:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=173959&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Using a cell phone, you can dial 1688-4949 and only be charged local rates for your usage. With 50,000 per month, I talk several hours a month to my folks in America.

That being said -- Skype is awesome. I use my cell more because I'm not home at "decent" hours for Americans, thus negating Skype's awesomeness.

Getting a used laptop and headset will run you from 200,000 to 400,000, or more/less depending on what you want in the machine. Internet runs about 30,000 a month (maybe? Haven't paid for it in a while.) So the choice is yours.

Also, I believe there's an exorbitant fee to connect a home phone. Like 60,000 or so. Unless you get it all in a package.

I hope all that random info above is useful...

[freakyaye852]

before you dive into an iphone, remember in June apple are announcing the iphone 4g.

[gyopoh]

[amcnutt]

Anyone else? Cell? Home phone? Both?
I don't want to get cable, but I do want to have the internet at home so I prob won't be getting a whole package deal for the apt.

[teacherk]

Don't get a landline. No use. Set up a Skype account and use that at home. I have a pre-paid cell phone. The phone cost 20,000 and I put about 10,000 a month/when it runs out. I only use it to make quick calls (meeting up) and texting which works fine for me. If you plan on using a cell more, prepaid is very expensive. Get a contract plan, but I have heard that this can be tough for foreigners to do alone.

[schlotzy]

This is Korea. I would almost say that not having a cell phone is absurb. You'll spend little to no time in your apartment, and once you make a lot of friends you'll have no way to contact them/for them to contact you.

In my own experience, and also from what I've read on 100s of these forums, it sounds like LG/Oz has the best cell phone deals for foreigners right now. The BEST situation you could get yourself into, would be for a Korean friend to sign you up for a phone under their name. Then you can actually get a sweet contract with a phone that doesn't cost a lot. I just got a brand new LG icecream cell for 10,000 won. $10!!! Unreal! My monthly plan is like 14,ooo won for a basic plan and this includes 100 text messages. Basically I pay for EVERY minute I use to call someone, but the minutes are cheap and all incoming calls are free. I just text most of the time and keep my talk time short. With taxes and the minutes I use, it usually costs around $20/month.

If you can't get a Korean friend to sign for you, you will usually end up getting a pay as you go phone. This isn't too bad of a deal, but it's inconvenient because you always have to buy the new time cards and i think the minutes are more expensive. Sometimes if you go somewhere like itaewon in Seoul with your alien card and passport you can get a contract through a company that deals exclusively with foreigners. They usually sell you used phones though, and you pay a bit more for them.