*UPDATE* I’ve gone with LG. I’m starting out with the standard plan and can quit anytime (no contract)
I went to some local stores to find out what kind of options there are for foreigners. I’ll be updating this post over the next few days as I find out more information so you don’t have to search around different posts. Here’s what I found out so far:
LG Telecom (Oz)
Enrollment fee: 30,000원 (paid in 10,000원 increments over 3 months)
No contract is needed if you already have a phone. If you do have a contract and end early: 10,000원 cancellation fee
| Name | Monthly basic charge | Rate / 10 seconds | Special benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 11,900 | 18 | - |
| Standard Plus | 13,000 | 18 (12AM~7PM), 15 (7PM~12PM) | - |
| Daytime users | 20,000 | 18 (5PM~9AM), 15 (9AM~5PM) | 60 free outgoing minutes |
| Special 6 people | 16,000 | 10.8 to pre-selected 6 people, 18 otherwise | 50 free text messages |
| Couple plan | 20,000 | 18 | Unlimited texts (shots included) between couple. Each member of a couple receives 502 free minutes to call the other person. Unlimited calls between 12AM – 6AM |
| Diet plan | 9,000 | 38 (Weekdays), 19 (Weekends + national holidays) | - |
| LGT Family | 15,500 | 18 (12AM~7PM), 15 (7PM~12AM) | 12,000 free minutes to LGT users |
| Power 9 | 29,000 | 9 | 30 text messages included |
| Name | Monthly basic charge | Rate / 10 seconds | Free minutes included | Special benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus 3500 | 30,000 | 18(16.2) Voice / 30(27) Video | 200 | 10% discount on call rate after free minutes. Free Caller ID |
| Plus 7000 | 40,000 | 325 | ||
| Plus 14000 | 50,000 | 482 | ||
| Plus 28000 | 70,000 | 18(14.4) Voice / 30(24) Video | 797 | 20% discount on call rate after free minutes. Free Caller ID |
| Plus 120000 | 90,000 | 1,834 |
I’m not sure how much pre-paid is
KT (QOOK / SHOW)
Not sure.
SK Telecom (T World)
No options under 2 years
Whoa dude. No options under 2 years? Were you asking them about contracts? I’ve done prepaid with them twice in two different regions and all I had to do was pay for the phone and however much money I wanted to charge. I could go to most SK shops to recharge as well.
Also, I was not under T World. Just plain old SK Telecom. Make sure if you go into an SK store that it’s NOT a T World store because I don’t know their policies. I believe the term they use for pre-paying is “card phone.” lol
@qklilx
I’ve asked about a card phone a couple of different times, but I haven’t got any info yet. Usually they say they don’t sell card phones and continue talking about a plan. I guess I’ll try to find a place that actually sells the card phones so they’ll explain it to me. I think I’m going to check out 신촌, the global village (LG), and maybe 용산 and/or the international center (I forget the actual name).
I just moved to Korea too and am looking at geting a phone soon. A co-worker of mine is pushing me to buy a phone from her friend who works for LG and says it would cost 80,000 won for the activation fee and the phone, which seems very high to me.
Can you tell me if the LG plan you signed up for, with the 30,000 won activation fee, included the phone, charger, etc, for free? I’m probably going to go with the Standard plan at 11,900/month. There has to be some offer out there where if you sign up for a year-long contract, then the phone is included for free. Any input you can give would be great, thanks!
@LZ
If you’ll be here for a year, you can get a free or very cheap phone. Otherwise you’ll have to buy one (probably a used one would be cheaper). You could just get one of the free phones with the year contract and then cancel it before you go home (it’s like a 10,000 charge, which could be cheaper than buying a different phone and going with a no-term contract)
O.k. I’m in Namgu near Kyu Sung University and am looking to get a phone with a contract. I went to a store with my co teacher and apparently they wouldn’t do it(just prepaid). Is there somewhere else even if I had to travel a bit that will take my money? A cell phone with a contract, seems simple. Thanks.
@Decapoe
If you’re having problems with that, you can always go to the Seoul Global Center near the capital where the LG rep speaks English and deals with this sort of thing everyday.
I already have a LG phone and the 1 year contract i had expired some time ago. But my phone having problems with the display and i am looking to change it.
Since i will be leaving seoul in a few months, i dont want to get a new contract pay a lot for cancellation. Is the 10,000 won true for cancellation if i get a new phone with the contract? Is there any way i could just buy a new phone without any contract and then get a contract with LG just for its service?
Yeah, from what I remember if you buy a phone without getting one of those ‘free’ ones you don’t have to sign a 12-month contract.
I had a one year contract with LG over in Korea, and now that I’m back in the states, I’m still being billed for it. Does anybody know of a website where I can cancel the service at
Try calling the Seoul Global Center and ask to talk with the LG rep
I have the same problem. Thanks for the lead. I canceled my phone 1 week before I left. its been 2 months and they are still taking 70000per month out of my checking.
mstrum,
i want to buy a samsung galaxy s with a contract (since it is almost $1000 sans contract) and then cancel the contract and bring the phone back to the states.
it is possible to use the phone here in the US. but is it possible to just cancel the contract and keep the phone? how much would the cancellation fee be?
thank you so much!
I’m not sure what the policy is when it’s for a phone like that. I’m guessing you won’t be able to just cancel the policy without paying the difference.
They actully won’t let us (non Koreans) take out a contract on those phones due to people like you. Currently its a min. of a two year contract and the cost of cancelling it is over 850,000 Won. (About the same price to buy it outright which is what you would have to do) Save yourself time and cash and get one in the US.
Hi!
I’m in Gimcheon (center of Korea) and am trying to get my cell phone activated.
I bought a phone last Friday for 50,000W but because I didn’t have a bank account attached with my ARC number, they wouldn’t activate it. So I went to KB bank and opened a new account. I went back to the cell phone store and the guy said that the activation fee rose to 200,000W so I have to wait until the prices come down (which will apparently be this weekend). He said that every cell phone activation price is the same in Gyeongsangbuk-do province. Is this really true?
I’ve asked my friends and they said their activation fees were 20,000W to 50,000W; the priciest was 70,000W.
My co teacher seems to believe the guy so I haven’t really questioned it. I would like to go to a different cell phone store to ask but I don’t want to press the issue with my co-teacher.
Does anyone have any information?
hey activation fee is about 20,000won to 30,000won range. i just got from us. if you need help, send me an email.
i have an iphone4. i will be living and working in seoul for the next few months. where is the Seoul Global Center you refer to where the LG rep speaks English? is it near the Gangnam or Myeong-dong area? thank you.
seoul global center, near gwanggwa-mun / Cheonggyecheon