Getting a smartphone in Korea

I've thought a lot about getting a smartphone. My previous school provided a cheap plan with a handset, so it was never worth the cost. Now, I have that handset, but it is prepaid (this is called PPS in Korea). The phone is alright for calling and slow for texting - but it works. 20,000 won doesn't last very long, though, and I feel like I could pay more for a better deal.

A few friends (Chevelle and Mara, two fantastic ladies) recommended a cell phone store in Daegu with a fluent English speaker(!!!!!), so off I went. This is what I learned:

Korea uses two year contracts, and phone prices are astronomical. The Iphone costs 794,000 won (about $740 USD)! However, they give a 602,000 won discount as you complete the contract.

Here is an example:

Iphone: 794,000
- two year contract:

phone cost discount: 602,000

total phone cost: 192,000

monthly phone cost over two years: 8,000

- cancelling after one year of your contract (as if you were going to your home country)

monthly fee paid so far: 8,000 x 12 months = 96,000

buying off the remainder of your phone: about 400,000

total phone cost: about 496,000

Nexus S: 602,000

- two year contract:

phone cost discount: 602,000

total phone cost: 0

monthly phone cost over two years: 0

- cancelling after one year of your contract (as if you were going to your home country)

monthly fee paid so far: 0

buying off the remainder of your phone: about 300,000

-He mentioned that cancelling after a year and six months may lower that cost to about 100,000

Furthermore, there are some initial fees which are rolled into your first three monthly bills:

-Registration fee: 24,000

-Bond Security fee: 20,000 to 30,000

-SIM Card: 5,500

Then there is the plans. The most popular plan is 55,000 a month; this includes unlimited data, 300 texts, and 300 minutes. Not a bad deal in and of itself.

Monthly bill for the Nexus S (after initial three months with higher bills to extra start-up fees):

-plan itself: 55,000

-insurance: 3,300

-VAT (taxes): 5,500

63,300 a month

For more information about plans and handsets, check out this great website: Kt's "Expat Blog" in English.

Getting there: Take the subway to Beomeo (on the green #2 line, three stops from Banwoldang). From there, you can take a cab (simply say "Hongum Home Plus-ah) for about 2,500 won. Alternatively, you can walk for about 20 minutes. Right in front of the Home Plus, you will see a Shinhan Bank, it is a little farther down than that.

Getting in touch: You can e-mail him at cpwon@frux.co.ke. From there, he may give you his number- he is quite fluent, I had no issue communicating on the phone.

Personally, I don't think it is worth the phone cost, since I don't plan on staying for a third year. I did love the Nexus S - Android's OS is amazing and it is produced by Samsung.

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As a side note, I have a new header for my blog! I got it from this fantastic site, lots of inspirational travel quotes and pictures!