Telephone Service, Korea

Telephone service in your home can be obtained through KTF (Korea Telecom Services). Tenants are generally responsible for ordering and paying for their telephone service. Individual foreign subscribers may be required to pay a security deposit of W250,000 (around U$250.00). (Note: if one’s employer is not paying for the phone service -landline or mobile - a Korean friend will sometimes put the service in her/his name.) The deposit is returned a few months after service has been disconnected in order to ensure that all outstanding charges have been paid. When you agree to services, you may want to confirm the cost for each of them since options that are offered free of charge in other countries, like caller ID and others, are charged an extra W1,000 or W2,000 in Korea. To request service (new service or repair), dial 100, then 8 (English).

Telephone bills can be paid at the bank (no bank account required) or by automatic withdrawal from your Korean bank account. The landlord/lady does not usually provide a telephone, but these are easily obtained in department or discount stores or in any electronics market. Telephones from the U.S. and Canada can be used in Korea, you just have to purchase a 4-pin adapter, which is easily found in any hardware store and many discount stores. Telephones from other countries do not always operate well in Korea, however. 

Long Distance calls are cheaper with Skype (via Internet) or with International Phone Cards:

Skype allows you to call a landline in Canada or the U.S. for pennies a minute via your computer. You can download free off the Internet. If the other person has a computer the call is free, and the call quality is amazing. All you need is one of those headsets with the microphone attached.

International Telephone Calling Cards can be purchased in convenience stores and special phone card shops of which there are many in Itaewon. When you purchase the card you pay a little less than the printed price and to use, you just dial the number on the card to connect to the line and then the number you wish to reach. It’s very simple and inexpensive. It is important to check a few things when buying a phone card, among them whether or not that card charges by increments or by time used. Some card companies charge by increments of 3 minutes, for example, which means that even if you only spoke for 2 minutes, you will have 3 minutes deducted from your time. Also check on the cost for the call to the country you are contacting. Charges differ from one Card Company to the other and rates vary for different countries, so do shop around. Note: It is also possible to subscribe to a service though which you can make your long distance calls. 

Public telephones are few and far between in this country where almost everyone has a cell phone and when they can be found, they generally require phone cards. However, those that do use coins, accept 50 and 100 won coins. Note: If you’re stuck needing a phone and there isn’t a coin one around, a passing stranger will happily let you use her/his cell phone. 


MOBILE/CELL PHONES sometimes referred to in Korea as ‘hand or handee phones’, are widely used and easily available…for a price, however, if you are not Korean. Almost all of the service providers require that foreign residents pay a security deposit over and above the purchase price of the unit. Prepaid mobile phones are easier to obtain but you must still purchase the phone and the charge per minute is higher than on the other plans. Used phone models are easily available, including pre-pay ones.

To register a mobile phone you must: be at least 18 years of age; present your alien registration card and passport, show your Korean credit card (in some instances) and have a Korean guarantor (If you don’t have one, you will be required to pay a deposit that can be as high as W200,000 or more).  For some foreign residents, getting a cell phone can be a major hurdle - most non-Koreans are only allowed to register for pre-paid card options, where per minute charges are very high. Moreover, since pre-paid cell phone calls are non-traceable, as of early 2008 the account 'holder' must return to the provider every three months to confirm her/his identity. Some offices have also charged some foreign account holders a W10,000 fee each time - you DO NOT have to pay this re-registration fee. If the provider insists, call 120 (in Seoul) or 1330 (anywhere in Korea).

The mobile phone networks in Korea are CDMA and not GSM as in many other parts of the world. Therefore, you cannot use a unit purchased in another country here (even if it is a Korean model) nor can you use SIM cards. It is possible to rent a mobile phone for a short time – the major networks (KTF, SK and LG) have booths at Incheon International Airport. It is possible to obtain international roaming for use in a few countries outside Korea.

English-menu mobile phones are widely available these days. This means that you have an English menu option and you can key in the alphabet as well as Korean characters. However, service messages that callers hear will be in Korean only – you can leave a voice message in English, but your caller will have to go through the first line of communication in Korean.


Making telephone calls in Korea is basically the same as in most other countries. There are, however, some possible differences you may want to bear in mind:

1. When you make a call from your cell phone it’s like making a long distance call, you have to always put the area code. For example when calling a local Seoul number that you would dial directly from your home phone (793-5555) you would dial 02-793-5555 from your cell phone.

2. There are actually 555 numbers in Korea.

3. When giving your home or cell number to someone from outside Korea to call you, you have to drop the ‘0’ so the number become 2-793-5555 or 10-222-5555 rather the local use 010-222-5555.

4. Calls to U.S. military numbers fall outside the regular calling pattern – you usually have to dial 5050 and then the number when trying to reach a number on one of the Seoul installations – always a good idea to check with the person to confirm the number to use when calling from off post.

Useful KT numbers:
- Local Directory Assistance 114
- Overseas Call Information 00794
- Operator Assistance 00799
- Order Service or Report Problems 100 

To initiate landline service contact Korea Telecom (KT). You can do it via the phone by pressing 100 and then 4 or by visiting a KT office (The main office is next to the Kyobo Building in Gwanwhamun.)  For more information on the process, go to www.kt.co.kr.

Phone bills can be paid at any bank, the post office or convenience stores such as Seven-Eleven and Family Mart. You can also arrange for automatic monthly payments from your Korean bank account. You can even pay via Internet. To make an Internet payment log into KT and other Internet banking web sites.

The basic phone rate is a little over W5,000/month (approx U$5,00). Over and above the base rate is a charge for each call made.
Call rates:
- Within the same city during regular hours (Weekdays 08:00 to 21:00), the rate is about 40 won / 180 seconds.
- During discount hours (Weekdays 21:00 to 24:00 and holidays 00:00 to 08:00), the fee will be about 40 won / 258 seconds.
- Calls from a land line to a mobile during regular hours is about 14.50 / 10 seconds, with discount hours (06:00 to 08:00/ 21:00 to 24:00) costing 13.67 won / 10 seconds.
- There is also a special discount between 00:00 and 06:00 of 12.87 won / 10 seconds.

Local Area Codes:

Busan (051)

Chungcheongbuk-do (043)
Chungcheongnam-do (041)

Daejeon (042)

Daegu (053)

Gangwon-do (033)

Gwangju (062)
Gyeonggi-do (031)

Gyeongsangbuk-do (054)
Gyeongsangnam-do (055)
Incheon (032)
Jeju (064)
Jeollanam-do (061)
Jeollabuk-do (063)
Seoul (02)

Ulsan (052)