Getting a Korean phone (when you don’t know the language)

Firstly, this is not a “How to” on getting a Korean phone…
After what I’ve gone through, I’d probably categorize it as a “How not to get a Korean phone”.  When you’re new to a country, the last thing you want to deal with is extraneous stress and confusion with important things… like cellphones and phone plans. Still, when that one person whom you were told would help you set up the necessities of your brand new life, can’t lend simple advice or is reluctant to take any responsibility outside of work hours, what do you do? Whatever it takes.

My relationship with my co-teacher was cursed since day one- it’s felt like harsh luck to be orphaned at the start and to rely on basic survival techniques to figure out ways to acclimate with Korea’s foreignness with little or no help. But I’m not a sit-on-the-curb-and-cry type of person.  A phone is not only a casual luxury; in a foreign place, it’s survival, even if you only know a small handful of people. I’ve considered not getting a phone, but in order to get around, call for additional directions when you’re in a taxi, know where to meet people when I get lost…. it’s almost mandatory.

Here are 5 cellphone stores lined side by side but this is nothing...

Secondly, it’s not hard to notice the one convenience Koreans love- their phone!
You’d have to be pretty rural not to stumble upon a cellphone store in Korea- they are common and the moment you find one cellphone store, you’ll find many.  This makes cellphone stores willing and prepared to bargain to get your business. But Korean phone sales are particular when it comes to giving phones/one-year plans to foreigners. A foreigner needs to provide an alien resident card, bank account information and on occasion, needs the sponsorship of a native resident. In the past, foreigners would rack up their bills and ditch country without paying them; thus, this has influenced a crack-down on the system.

Most EPIKers had either picked up a phone early on from an independent dealer or were now going with their native co-teacher for sponsoring help of their plan or to get Prepaid phones. Korea is similar to Japan in that it has its own phones and its own special CDMA network. A GSM or SIM phone will not work in Korea. My co-teacher kept fending off having to help me with this- she had helped the last NET before me get her phone, sponsored her even… but now, she was giving me the impression that she didn’t really want to have to do this again. Rather than having to constantly nag her, which is what it feels like at times, I took the hint and (ok, pissedly) set off to deal with it on my own.

The phone store I went to.

Thirdly, knowing how to haggle is one art, but haggling for a phone contract (free minutes vs. paid, text messaging, internet useage, etc… ) is a different beast. You need to know your options…
Prepaid phones are possibly the easiest for foreigners to get as it requires the least in commitment and important documents– you just purchase a phone, a number & you pay each month around 10,000W+ to keep your number active and to put minutes on your phone (the rates per minute, however, are higher than normal). A basic phone plan (i.e. my plan with LG) is essentially the cheaper of the two. In some cases, you may get  free phone for signing a contract. You are contracted to a one-year plan- you pay an initial 30,000W your first month and something like 13,000W monthly service fee (thereafter) for just the service itself . The minutes used are an additional charge, but the rate per minute is significantly lower… like .02/10 seconds.

Fourth, probably the easiest solution is… Pay whatever amount of money and just get a phone!
Unlike most people in my shoes, I did not strive for the easiest solution.  “Survival” does not mean you should have to settle for the first thing which makes itself available. No. I wanted the best and cheapest phone plan and  because I’m living in Korea, I want really cool Korean-ized phone; a phone which does something … “Korean-special”. I visited three shops before picking a phone/plan I liked. The last store I went to, the store dealer and I communicated in bad English and bad Korean, while also writing/drawing things on paper. An hour later, feeling the victory of Superwoman, I left the store with a cute $50 phone that twinkles when it receives calls and plays free satellite TV. Included was a charger, a phone case, protection screens, odd trinkets… and a one year contract (listed above)! I felt pretty good! I pat myself on the shoulder…  getting a cellphone/plan all by lonesome wasn’t as hard people made it out to be!

My new phone (Sky UL-450L)- it twinkles when it gets calls

...it also plays free satellite tv-- the resolution is actually really great!

And finally, three hours later …
My victory cheer inevitably changed to stress when I got home–  more questions formed on the horizon and my reference sheets were a scribbled paper and a contract written entirely in Korean, with numbers that didn’t quite match the scribbles! In addition, I realized I’d made one mistake–  “my assumption of my basic phone plan” were based on what I know of U.S. cellphone plans to be like, not Korean ones  (A basic service plan in the U.S. gets you a standard number of free minutes or free provider-to-provider calls; in Korea, a basic plan affords you a discount on your minute-to-minute rates, unless you go with a more expensive plan). Well, one loose thread can unravel an entire outfit. When it got down to it, I realized my survival methods were flawed.

Superwoman reverted back to a naive whimpering girl again… The next day, my co-teacher’s call to the store where I got my plan from, was like an exercise in treading water– all splash and flail, without moving an inch in information. To add to the stress, my phone couldn’t be activated until the name on my bank account matched my alien card to a “T “(a roadblock issue reported by other EPIKers – my name on my bank account didn’t have my middle initial, while my alien card did… ). My co-teacher finally regretted not having helped me- it felt like a mess.

One “new ” bank account later and a visit to Soon Hee’s room (a new teacher friend who taught English last year) instantly brought my world back into working order! Soon Hee made a call to LG (my provider)  and got me to an English-speaking representative. Whatever my terms had been with the dealer (he charged me a rate slightly higher), I would be able to change  by calling LG directly within a month.   I was so grateful to Soon Hee and to finally have a working phone!

.
My 3 Korean Phone Options:

Option #1: The Quick & Easy English (the Independent dealer)
Location: cellphone store (the only one) located one to two blocks from Camp Walker, Exit 4 in Daegu.
Contract: 1 Year
$110 phone + a $27/month plan for 250 free minutes (texting activation/fees are additional)
Phone: Anycall- simple, white, nice design with clock on the cover
Difficulty: Easy- English speaking
* U.S. Passport required but not alien registration card (as with most places)
* this deal was originally found by a fellow EPIKEr, Jefferey Ma.

Option #2: The Skinny (Pre-paid phone)
A friend gave me a free but old pre-paid phone from his co-teacher + I would just need to pay to activate a number and find cellphone shops  where I can purchase/recharge minutes whenever I run out.
Difficulty: said to be easy, but my specific situation felt hard
Location: Tried many cellphone shops only for the dealer to look at my phone, laugh, return it and say No.
New number registration fee: 30,000W- 100,000W
Phone: standard and minimal
* No contract but must put money on phone each month to keep phone number active.

Option #3: The Obvious Leap (Cellphone store with SK or LG plan) MY CHOICE****
Location: Bandolwang area (3 stores)
Contract: 1 Year LG plan
Initial plan: $50 phone + 30,000W (1st 3 months) for 250 free minutes, remainder months at 13,000W and 18Won/10 sec (or 12 cents/min)
Revised plan: LG’s basic plan of 30,000W @ 200 free minutes for the 1st month & 13,000W thereafter @ 18W  or 2 cents/10sec!
Phone: Sky UL- cool design with light-up design upon ring, internet/mail capabilities with plan, free TV/video
Difficulty: Medium to hard, ideal to have native Korean speaking person with you.
Resident alien card + bank account required (names on both must match to a T)
You will need a native speaker to make the initial call through to the LG operator to get an English speaking customer service representative or  dial 114 on your phone to access this.
Latest Update: 114 is the service operator and there is an option for English. I was able to speak to an English operator and easily change my plan to 14,500W/mo plan (100 Free texts) + .18W/10 sec.  There is another option 15,500W/mo for 100 free texts + 20hrs Free LG to LG.