Korean Job Discussion Forums

[farzfive]

Apparently, AT&T now offers an international plan that works in South Korea.

Did anyone here go with that plan? I am trying to figure out my phone situation and I have no clue what to do.

I don't want to lose my number, but I also don't want to pay for the U.S. service if I'm not going to use it for a year.

Also, isn't hard for a foreigner to get a smart phone out there?

[nick70100]

I just had a quick look at the AT&T website. Are you talking about the "World Traveler" plan? It does say it has recently been made available in South Korea and Japan, but did you look at the rates? Calls are $2.29 per minute. Text messages are $0.50 to send and $0.20 to receive. Data is $0.0195 per KILOBYTE. At that rate using one gigabyte of data would cost you nearly twenty thousand dollars. On top of all this you would have a US number, meaning that anyone in Korea wanting to call you would be charged international rates. This is not a realistic option unless you're both rich and insane. This is designed for business people who make occasional international trips and whose employers are likely paying the bills. If you are talking about something else, I aplogize, but this was the only international plan I was able to find on AT&T's website.

As for using your American iphone with a Korean carrier, it's possible but it will be both expensive and a hassle. All foreign phones in Korea must be "verified" by some sort of government entity. It can cost as much as 300,000 and take a month or longer to complete. In theory they're supposed to be checking to see if it is safe and if it emits any frequencies that would cause interference and things like that. It's much more likely though that they just pocket the cash and stick the phone in a drawer for a month.

So yes, it's possible, but a major hassle. You can find other threads on this forum with more details about the process.

[farzfive]

crap. i guess ill just get a phone there then.

I just dont want to lose my U.S. #

[pkang0202]