there is a set of rituals you go through when you buy a new cell phone in South Korea .

  1. you purchase an LCD protective film to stick over the top layer especially in the large LCD area of full-screen bar-type cell phones popular now .
  2. then you buy a dedicated casing for your cell phone . then kind depends on what kind of cell phone you have from sliding ones to flip or full-screen bar-type phones . in some instance when the exterior of the device is too curvy you can only buy a (transparent) vinyl or soft plastic sticker to stick on all sides of your cell phone .

 

first the LCD film . they give you a couple when you buy a good quality case, but the cheap ones leave lots of streaks when you write on it for touch-screen devices . so get a good quality one and PRACTICE before you slide on the final approach for dust is ample all around you ! IF you do it right you won’t notice it is a cover film from quality model makers . but from experience this is an awsome task more-so if you are trying to cover your laptop top . so head on to a service branch of one of the popular cover makers and they will stick it on for free ! believe-me it is worth your traveling trouble . larger manufacturers offer plastic covers for your cell phone, digital camera and laptop . quality LCD covers will cost up to W10,000 while all-side stickers add for a total of over W20,000 .

PurePlate has 3 pleasant locations with showrooms resembling small Apple Stores (all 3 electronic districts/buildings explained on my “Electronic Districts/Market in Seoul/South Korea” Page AND open on national holidays):

  • Seoul West : ShinDoRim TechnoMart 7th Floor Store 7 . Mon ~ Sun 10:30 am ~ 8:30 pm / closed every 2nd & 4th Tuesdays, Tel.02-2111-7007
  • Seoul Mid-West : YongSan Electronics Market : Electronics Land “JeonJa Landu” 1st floor C-129 . open 10 am ~ 7 pm / Sat & Sun 7:30 pm / closed every 1st/3rd/5th Tuesdays, Tel. 02-717-1137
  • Seoul East : TechnoMart Building 5th Floor B-103, Mon ~ Sun 10 am ~ 8 pm / closed Tuesdays, Tel.02-3424-5785

SGP Incredible Shield has 7 locations in Seoul plus 5 more in Northern cities INCLUDING all 3 buildings above :

  • ShinDoRim TechnoMart 9th Floor Store 57, Tel.02-2111-8216
  • YongSan Electronics Land : New Wing “Shin-Gwan” Store 407, Tel.02-702-7822
  • TechnoMart Building 7th Floor B-21, Tel.02-3424-7790
  • other locations in Seoul from West clock-wise : ShinCheon, JongRo, NoWon and KangNam Main Store,
  • but I recommend their KangNam Main Store at Subway Line 2 SeonNoong Subway Station Exit 1 turn right and in the 2nd block to your left SamJung Building Office 402 (BuKangMi Hair Salon on ground floor) open 10 am ~ 8 pm weekdays only and out to lunch an hour from noon, Tel.02-553-8267
  • and other cities South-ward : ilSan, AnYang, DaeJeon, ikSan and DaeGu,

– in my experience PurePlate has more harder surface susceptible to scratch (although all these expensive models are scratch-resistant) while SGP Incredible Shield is more soft-to-the-touch thus more dents (in vigorous use) than scratch and less slippery –

 

 

then comes the casing, which used to down-grade the design appeal of the cell phone itself . but no more : some of the latest models like the ones introduced here enhance the look of the portable wonder . another very important reason for buying an LCD film as well as a dedicated case is to ensure the resale value of cell phones . for popular full-screen bar-type cell phones are mighty expensive in South Korea : over W700,000 retail price and over aproximately W400,000 for two year contracts .

a simple hard-plastic clam-casing like the one you put on PSP (Play Station Portable) was popular in days of oval-shaped sliding type cell phones . but as popular models come to full-screen bar-type cell phones the popular casing is either soft-silicone type or flip-open hard leather type .

and where do you buy these Korean cell phone cases ? yes there are ample choices in electronic districts alongside cell phone shops . but the most cute varieties with bargain price can be had no other than on Internet Shopping Malls . because they are not expensive, you will find them in smaller shops similar to on-line auction sites than large Internet Shopping Malls run by large Korean conglomerates .

 

for starters, ‘Ringke’ soft silicone case can be found in GMarket.com . coming in more refined darker colors that engulf your cell phone for impact . this model costs W12,000 a tad expensive for a dummy case but it should protect your LG SH210 well . again this model also known as “Beauty Phone” is a great bargain among full-screen bar-type models since it was introduced a while ago last year .

  

 

then a cute-to-sophisticated array of choices in all types of vinyle and leather casing at ‘barbie.jin’ sellers again at GMarket.com . this classic alligator model also for LG SH210 only costs around W7,000 ! the flap attaches via magnet but prone to damage when dropped, since the sides are bare -_-

  

  

then comes my favourite and the most expensive casing for SamSung AnyCall W750, the latest popular model called “Haptic Pop” and dubbed “BOF Boys Over Flowers” phone . this Zenus Brand is available at Shinsegae Internet Mall for a whopping W31,500 !

watch closely for this is a different model than the cheaper variation on top of this page which can be bought at ‘PhoneCodi’ at GMarket for aproximately W5,000 . this one engulfs part of the side panels while the cheaper models bare the sides .