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bsrosenfeld
Joined: 25 Jan 2010
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:50 pm Post subject: Upgrading my Cell Phone |
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My recruiter set me up with a pay as you go phone with T-World when I first arrived in Korea and before I had my ARC. That deal is about to expire (it was only good for 3 months) and I will have to either provide my ARC to keep the pay as you go or sign up for a contract phone.
I've done some research and a contract phone doesn't seem to be for me. I currently pay 20won per text message and 37won for 10 seconds of call time; about 10,000 - 15,000won per month. The cheapest contract phone I can find is about 30,000won per month.
So here are my questions:
Can I go to Itaewon/Yongsan and buy any cool phone and use that with my T-World account or are phones carrier specific like in the States?
Are there any pay as you go phones that I can get internet access with or will that require a data plan?
Is there anything I should be aware of when buying a new/used cellphone in Korea?
Thanks so much for your help. |
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SeoulNate

Joined: 04 Jun 2010 Location: Hyehwa
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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you dont need to buy a new phone.
Just find out where your boss got the phone and walk in with her name written down along with your phone number and ask them to charge it. If you dont speak any Korean just hand them the name and number and 20,000 won, they should know what to do.
The three month expiration thing means that you need to put money on the phone every three months or they are going to cancel your contract. So, in other words if you walk in the store every 2 and a half months, put 20-30 bucks on the phone it will never go inactive. |
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bsrosenfeld
Joined: 25 Jan 2010
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry for the incomplete thought. I know I don't have to get a new phone, but I really don't like the one I have now and would like to get something a little easier to text on and maybe with internet access.
While we're on the topic of recharging:
Is it possible to recharge without going into a store? Say online or over the phone using my debit card or bank account? My recruiter has been recharging for me, 10,000won at a time, but I will need to start doing it from now on.
Has anyone heard of your minutes expiring each month? When I press *11 on my T-World phone it gives me my current text/talk balance and it always gives me a date that is about 1 month after my last recharge.
Appreciate it. |
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bsrosenfeld
Joined: 25 Jan 2010
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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Moderator, please move to 'General Discussion' forum.
My bad. |
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SeoulNate

Joined: 04 Jun 2010 Location: Hyehwa
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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I was with T-world a few years ago and as far as i remember the minutes last for three months before they expire, not every month.
As for a new phone, since it sounds like you dont need a contract, i would just check out the local phone shops that use T-world, they should have nice used phone from about 20bucks. At which point you will probably need a Korean speaker to help you transfer the phone number. In addition, you will need the signature of whoever opened the account. Or, you can just start a new phone number, which is a lot easier if you dont care about the old number.
As for over the phone recharging, you can't, unless you have a korean credit card, but any of your coteachers can do it in like 5 minutes. |
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jamiemexi
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Will they have iphone 4 in s. Korea? |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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jamiemexi wrote: |
Will they have iphone 4 in s. Korea? |
Probably never since samsung recent introduced their own version of iphone. Samsung would probably hire a lobbist to jack up the import tax on apple iphone and not many could afford it. |
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bsrosenfeld
Joined: 25 Jan 2010
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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I looked at getting an iPhone 3GS through SK (I think) and it required a 2-year contract and would still run you about 250,000won. On top of that the rate plans for the cheapest plan (30,000won per month) gave you really low data usage, number of texts and minutes.
I'd love to go back to having an iPhone, but just can't justify the expense. |
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SeoulNate

Joined: 04 Jun 2010 Location: Hyehwa
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:11 am Post subject: |
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jamiemexi wrote: |
Will they have iphone 4 in s. Korea? |
heard august, no idea how true that is though. Info came from some random working at my local SK store. |
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