Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rosetintedwanderlust]

I apologize if this has already been discussed.

From what I've read you can put an iphone in airplane mode (so you won't have any roaming charges while in South Korea) and then turn on wifi and be able to pick up internet as well as use the skype app to make phone calls. Does anyone do this or am I wrong and it won't work? I am moving to S. Korea in a few days and I really want to do this. I have an iphone 3G.

[blawrensen]

Yes, you can use your iPhone with WiFi only, and use Skype to make phone calls. But "Skype Out" and "Skype In" (to call to or receive calls from telephones) will have some costs; to/from computers using Skype is free.

I have been using an iPhone 2 for this for over a year here, though I find it easier to use my desktop computer or MacBook for Skype. We bought a phone number for Skype in/out before leaving the US, which will cost less per month than buying the US phone number from Korea, so you might consider that if coming from the US or another country. We primarily use Skype for calls to and from the US, and it generally works very well. An occasional call has a problem, but almost all work very well. South Korea has really fast Internet, which certainly helps the Skype connection on this end.

Plus the iPhone will be useful for its other features and apps. If you want to use it for cellular service in Korea, though, there is a registration fee of 300,000 KRW, I believe, to be able to use it with KT or SK (they would rather sell you a new one and make money from that sale).