Travel Cellphone plans in Korea
I've been in Korea at 2 months for this point. Here's what I've learned about cellphone plans:
There's 3 teirs of plans. (assuming you want data)
- Data + phone number with identity verification
- Data + phone number
- Data only
Regrettably while number 3 is the most useful, allowing you to do things like rent e-scooters, buy tickets on the Korean sites for Concerts / League games / and more... it's also in-accessible without an Alien Registration Card & long term plan.
You're going to want a Korean phone number though. Something as simple as waiting in line for a restauraunt, more often than not requires a cellphone number. Along with signing up for a full account on Naver Maps / etc.
Data only is still useful but given the phone number often only costs an extra $5 I think it's worth it.
In terms of providers you have a couple options.
1. A friend of mine walked into a random cellphone shop and after paying ~$60 CAD in cash (no credit accepted) walked out with a phone plan that could receieve texts.
2. If you're willing to go for eSIM I can't reccomend LG U+ enough. They have english live chat that responds to questions quickly and consicely with exactly the answer to the question you asked. Both Data only and Data + voice are an option.
3. Airalo is an option, though both a friend and I had troubles activating with it. On the same phone (iPhone 13), one of us had trouble for 24h. The other's plan never worked. Live chat support took 10-24h to respond to any messages, and a week to refund the plan that never worked. All around a horrible experience.