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Zanniati
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:44 pm Post subject: Where should I get a phone? |
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I just got my ARC card and a bank account but I need to get a phone. I live in Ilsan. I have a Korean that is willing to help me get a phone but she doesn't get off work until 6:30pm. This is my first year here and I really don't expect to use a phone all that often. What kind of plan is better? Pay as you go or monthly fee? Also, for whichever plan is better, where is the best place to go to get the phone and plan?
Thanks a bunch! |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:05 pm Post subject: Re: Where should I get a phone? |
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| Zanniati wrote: |
I just got my ARC card and a bank account but I need to get a phone. I live in Ilsan. I have a Korean that is willing to help me get a phone but she doesn't get off work until 6:30pm. This is my first year here and I really don't expect to use a phone all that often. What kind of plan is better? Pay as you go or monthly fee? Also, for whichever plan is better, where is the best place to go to get the phone and plan?
Thanks a bunch! |
if you're willing to put in a little effort you can find a net that is leaving and take over their 2 year contract for the last year which can be a great deal. you can get a seriously nice smartphone for free (normally how it works) from that person just to take over the rest of the contract. plus it doesn't stick you in the situation of having to find someone to take over a 2 year contract if you end up getting one. people are always advertising for that sort of thing on daves and on craigslist. i actually did something of the sorts with a friend recently because i wanted to get a galaxy sII and had a year left of my 2 year contract.
or you can get a 1 year contract where your selection of phones is normally limited to the bottom barrel phones and the price per month is higher.
if you truly don't use your phone that often, pre-paid can be a good method but everyone i've ever known here quickly outgrows their pre-paid plans.
edit: most foreigner friendly carriers are KT and LG. both are good, KT normally has the better phone selection. |
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Zanniati
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:54 pm Post subject: Re: Where should I get a phone? |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
if you're willing to put in a little effort you can find a net that is leaving and take over their 2 year contract for the last year which can be a great deal. you can get a seriously nice smartphone for free (normally how it works) from that person just to take over the rest of the contract. plus it doesn't stick you in the situation of having to find someone to take over a 2 year contract if you end up getting one. people are always advertising for that sort of thing on daves and on craigslist. i actually did something of the sorts with a friend recently because i wanted to get a galaxy sII and had a year left of my 2 year contract.
or you can get a 1 year contract where your selection of phones is normally limited to the bottom barrel phones and the price per month is higher.
if you truly don't use your phone that often, pre-paid can be a good method but everyone i've ever known here quickly outgrows their pre-paid plans.
edit: most foreigner friendly carriers are KT and LG. both are good, KT normally has the better phone selection. |
I'm thinking I may either go with a really cheap plan or just do pay as you go. Back home I only used like, 200 minutes per month and maybe a few hundred text messages. I actually expect to use it more here but not by much.
Someone here recommended that I use LG if I want a plan. What's a good provider for pay-as-you-go?
Also, will I need to bring a Korean with me to get a phone? I've heard this is the case. I have a Korean willing to come, I would just need to wait till this weekend, which is fine. Is it much easier with a Korean? |
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RangerMcGreggor
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
Location: Somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Texting can kill you depending on your social life. Getting a phone that uses kakao talk can save you some money in the long rung. |
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SeoulNate
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Location: Hyehwa
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:09 pm Post subject: Re: Where should I get a phone? |
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| Zanniati wrote: |
I'm thinking I may either go with a really cheap plan or just do pay as you go. Back home I only used like, 200 minutes per month and maybe a few hundred text messages. I actually expect to use it more here but not by much.
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200 minutes on pay as you go here would be around 40,000 won per month. And say 200 text messages would run you another 10,000 won or so.
Pay as you go in Korea is only for someone who never uses the phone for calling as making phone calls runs about 10,000 won per 30 minutes of talk time.
You can get a cheap plan for 25-30,000 won a month with a free or nearly free phone. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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as others have said and i alluded to before, getting a pay as you go phone is not a good idea. it's only for people who make one or two calls every so often and don't text often either.
get a cheap plan and get a "free" phone with it. like another poster said, get a smartphone that can use kakaotalk. it's a chat program that everyone uses here that is "free" because it uses data instead of your sms allotment.
a standard base plan here is around 55k a month plus the phone cost split up into 12/24 months minus a "sponsorship" which means that the telco company will deduct a certain amount off the phone cost for the person being a loyal customer.
like i said before, if i were you i would go and snag a smartphone off someone who needs someone to pick up their last year of their contract. get the phone for free and just pay the monthly cost. i bet you could even get someone to give you a little cash to boot. i know i would have done so when i was trying to find someone to take over my contract.
a lot of people are trying to get rid of their samsung galaxy s1's and iphone 4's right now to get the galaxy s II, and both are very good phones.
edit: oh and it's most certainly not true that you need a korean to go with you. it could make it easier but it is not necessary unless you go to a poorly run store where they don't like to deal with foreigners. i suggest if you do go the route of getting a new phone to go to a global store, both LG and KT have them and i'm sure SK does as well but they are much more difficult to deal with if you have an E2 visa. |
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Vox_Populi
Joined: 04 May 2009
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:28 am Post subject: |
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| RangerMcGreggor wrote: |
| Texting can kill you depending on your social life. Getting a phone that uses kakao talk can save you some money in the long rung. |
Kakao is great for communicating with Koreans but TextPlus is much handier if you plan to do any texting with people in North America. It gives you a free virtual phone number that allows people to text directly to it from any US or Canadian cell phone. They can do it from a standard old cell phone. It need not be a smart phone and you can reply back to them and it's all FREE!!!
Of course, there's absolutely NO reason whatsoever not to just have BOTH! |
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Zanniati
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
like i said before, if i were you i would go and snag a smartphone off someone who needs someone to pick up their last year of their contract. get the phone for free and just pay the monthly cost. i bet you could even get someone to give you a little cash to boot. i know i would have done so when i was trying to find someone to take over my contract.
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Hey, I took your advice and I found someone willing to give me their plan and phone.
Does anyone know if the other person will be able to change the name and information from the old account and transfer it to me or will it be under their name still and I just pay? Any other information about this transfer process would be really helpful. Also, should I expect to get the smart phone for free or should I expect to pay a bit for it? |
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Drew10
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Zanniati wrote: |
| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
like i said before, if i were you i would go and snag a smartphone off someone who needs someone to pick up their last year of their contract. get the phone for free and just pay the monthly cost. i bet you could even get someone to give you a little cash to boot. i know i would have done so when i was trying to find someone to take over my contract.
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Hey, I took your advice and I found someone willing to give me their plan and phone.
Does anyone know if the other person will be able to change the name and information from the old account and transfer it to me or will it be under their name still and I just pay? Any other information about this transfer process would be really helpful. Also, should I expect to get the smart phone for free or should I expect to pay a bit for it? |
It will be no problem to transfer the account into your name. You both go to the store, both bring your ARCs and you bring your bank info. They take all of your info and fill out some paperwork. That easy. |
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