this a one-page guide to major telecommunication branches in South Korea
whose content holds true as of March 25th 2009, before the influx of iPhone in 3GS end of November which will eventually change the demographics of the whole mobile life on the Korean Peninsula

and major changes will be added as Updates down below as I prefer to keep initial records intact :

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South Korea is a modern city . and very mobile . from cell phones to laptops on-the-go . so it is important that get the right set-up from the start . again I cannot accentuate enough the importance of visiting an official branch than a re-seller middle-man who sticks leaflets in your neighborhood offering all kinds of discounts . here I will list phone companies and cell phone carriers, although you will need cable or satellite TV (or DMB) and Internet connection too, also offered by some programs below but will list in another page .

aside from phone companies, cell phone carriers have many, many agents all around the nation, but I encourage you to stop by a branch directly run by the company, perferably a Membership Plaza .

  • MemberShip Plazas : only a handful around South Korea with lounges for members (subscribers) to inquire all aspects of service . chances are you will find a lady who speaks English here .
  • Official Branch Offices : directly run by the telecommunications company . all by-the-book means you will pay full retail price .
  • Local Branches : discounts abound, but beware for you don’t know what price or option they will stick onto your subscription .

most of these major companies run about two dozen official branches in the Capital of Seoul, then a handful in the Port City of Busan (Pusan) and less in other cities . I cannot list them all but here are the ones in prime spots within Seoul and Busan (coming). geographical locations from West and clockwise . all large enough to have a BIG sign in front of the whole building, which they may own .

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KT (mostly for surface line telephones and Internet connection but also some cell phone services)
http://www.kt.com – changed – please see update on bottom of this page,

KwangHwaMoon Branch (old downtown)
Subway Line 5 KwangHwaMoon Station Exit 2 KT Building is sandwitched between the American Embassy and Kyobo Building .

YongSan Branch (SamGakJi entrance to U.S. Army  base)
Subway Line 4 SamGakJi Station Exit 3 and second block to your Left
5 large blocks South is YongSan Post Office on your Left, and across is YongSan KTX Station engulfed in the massive iPark Mall and eMart, and behind that a linked passageway to YongSan Electronics Market/District .

YongDong Branch (modern KangNam area South of Han River)
Subway Line 2 YeokSam Station Exit 8 or SeonRoong Station Exit 5
walk straight until Ramada Renaissance Hotel, turn into the road and is on the 2nd block to your Left .

*KT, the land-line telephone company above, have merged with the cell phone carrier KTF below, on June eventually to bungle all of their website into one single confusing catalyst at
http://www.olleh.com

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KTF Members Plaza (mediocre cell phone services)
most open 9am ~ 6pm unless noted; closed Sundays and holidays
directly-run branches are open 10am ~ 8pm; closed Sundays and holidays
http://cs.show.co.kr – changed – please see update on bottom of this page,

Central Members Plaza (business district West of Seoul KTX Station)
Subway Line 2 ChoongJungRo Station Exit 2 and you are there ChoongJung Tower 2nd floor .

TechnoMart Members Plaza (East end of Seoul)
open 10am ~ 7:30pm Sat.~7pm; closed Sundays and holidays
Subway Line 2 KangByon Station Exit 1 NOT in the TechnoMart Electronics Shopping Mall but the next building TechnoMart Business Building 4th floor .

M&S directly run shop in ShinSaDong Tel.02-3445-3065
Subway Line 3 ShinSa Station Exit 3 next block onto your Left

KangNam Members Plaza (middle of young trendy cafes)
Subway Line 2 KangNam Station Exit 1 walk straight 2 large blocks and on your Right : SangKyung Building 1st floor .
turn around at Exit 1 and you are at competing SKT Branch .

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SK Telecom (long-time wide cell phone service and some Internet connection)
http://www.tworld.co.kr

MyungDong Directly Run Shop (old fashion central)
Subway Line 4 MyungDong Station Exit 6 turn Left on Milleglore and is on 2nd block to your Left .
when you’re done one more block North is the largest Apple Store in Korea to your Left named “FrisBee”.

KangNam Branch (middle of young trendy cafes)
Subway Line 2 KangNam Station Exit 1 turn around and is there .
2 large block from Exit 1 is a competing KTF Branch .

SeonRoong Directly Run Shop (night club area of riche KangNam, South of Han River) Tel.02-2052-9011
Subway Line 2 SeonRoong Station Exit 8 is on the next block to your Right .

COEX Mall Buddy Branch (aging modern shopping & convention complex) Tel.02-6002-6459
Subway Line 2 SamSung Station linked underground via Exit 5 & 6 COEX Mall C-5 .
this mega-mall is surrounded by 2 Intercontinental Hotels, HyunDai Department Store, City AirPort Terminal and OakWood Apartments . in the mall is also Bandi & Luni’s BookStore with one of the largest selection of English and Japanese books in Korea .

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– Korea Tech BLog, March 2009 –

Related information Pages :
09.1.9 Cell Phones in South Korea ≫LiNK

Related BLog Posts :

  • 08.12.25 SamSung LG or Sky ≫LiNK
  • 09.6.24 How To USE Korean Cell Phones Abroad in China Philippines Singapore U.S.≫LiNK
  • 09.8.10 Popular Cell Phones SALES Ranking in South Korea ≫LiNK

 

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[ December 18th Supplement ]

  1. 1. if you plan to visit South Korea for less than a Month : check your own carrier’s Roaming options BEFORE you depart your own country .
    plus, check independent Rental Cell Phone options at SKT and KTF/KT English Roaming sites .
  2. if you are contemplating to buy a Cell Phone in South Korea and choosing a carrier : again, I strongly suggest you visit in person, SKT and/or KTF/KT’s main building in the city you plan to be stationed for more than 3 Months . do this, even for recent iPhones or Android Phones where they indicated several branches to visit in their English sites .
    because the former will give you right AND fair answers while the latter will urge you towards subscription plans for their benefit, especially iTaewon Branches – how to see the difference between the two ?
    Main Branch Office consist of a whole floor of a large building, usually by the same name of the Telecommunicatins Company, while smaller branches nomatter if they call themselves “international Branches specifically for foreigners”, is a tiny shop barely larger than your bedroom .
  3. in-bound as well as out-bound Wi-Fi Roaming is operating however terms AND rates to change, so will introduce in by more frequent BLog Post . but do NOT consider 3G Data Roaming for it will cost you a bundle either way .

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[ April 9th 2011 Update ]

it is daunting for the first time visitor into the most advanced consumer network nation in the World since the Millennium
to find the larger AND the more popular companies AND brands have a totally different name for their services AND/OR websites .

they all think they are cute (themselves AS WELL AS their site name) amongst a branded World
but oh if you add all the companies AND their sites up it mixes up in a wasteful confusion .

a perfect example is (NOT the subway) South Korea Railroad Company with their official site at Korail.com
but formerly consumer site at Barota.com now changed to Qubi.com

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so KT (again the telephone company bought over former telecommunications company KTF branded as “Show” again more confusing duh)
is combining their former surface-line consumer website of Qook.com AND KTF’s mobile consumer website of Show.co.kr
into Olleh.com (sounds good for singing AND dancing but oh how lame) from first thing January 2011 .

great if all is smooth, but subscribers who had all kinds of services from KT AND KTF plus their former sites, show a mix array of irrelevant information clogging while the sites are technically put together ..

as I said times over that when a foreigner subscribes into a communications service it is best to go directly of an Official Branch
and in this case for KT land-lines AND cell-phone subscription it is best to head out to a ‘KT Plaza’ mapped on their official site .

again, these are ‘consumer lounges’ in multi-story buildings with a big KT logo thus different scale than your cellular carrier stores on the street .
all telephone numbers are common at 1577-7341
most open 9am ~ 6pm only on weekdays (OFF Saturday AND Sunday)

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I have personally confirmed that all clerks speak fluent English at the following ‘KT Plaza’
although smaller than the larger ones located in central locations further below
BUT may delegate to non-English speaking colleague at lunch time :

  • Seoul : YongSan WonHyo Plaza (Subway Line 4 SamGakJi Station Exit 3 and is on the second block
    OR Line 6 SamGakJi Station Exit 14 and walk straight South for 3 large blocks still very close,
    is on the ground floor of a large dark building with the logo KT)

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the following branches located in central OR malls stay open longer than the usual 9-to-6 Week Days ONLY :

  • Seoul : KangNam Plaza (South of Han River over HanNam Bridge) open Monday to Saturday 9am ~ 6pm,
  • Seoul : ShindoRim Plaza (Seoul-West) Monday to Saturday 10:30am ~ 7:30pm and OFF every 2nd AND fourth Tuesday,
  • Seoul : KangByon Plaza (Seoul-East in Technomart Electronics Department Store)
    Monday thru Friday 10am ~ 7:30pm and Saturday until 7pm,
  • Seoul : YongSan Plaza (Seoul Central in iPark Mall 8th Floor on top of YongSan KTX Train Station)
    Monday thru Saturday 10:30am ~ 7:30pm,
  • ChoongNam : DaeJeonJoongAng Plaza Monday to Friday 10am ~ 7:30pm and Saturday until 7pm
  • DaeGu or TaeGu : DongSungRo Plaza Monday to Friday 10am ~ 7:30pm and Saturday until 7pm
  • Busan or Pusan : SeoMyon Plaza Monday thru Friday 10am ~ 7:30pm and Saturday until 7pm,
  • ChangWon Plaza (South-Eastern tip of South Korea) Monday thru Friday 10am ~ 7:30pm and Saturday until 7pm,

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[ February 23 2015 Update ]

Telecommunications scene over the Korean Peninsula has changed 5 years after original Posting – there is an old local proverb saying “rivers and mountains change in ten years” – although around the same axis . noteably MVNO virtual operators have come into service from 2011, riding piggy-back on three ealier major cellular carriers in KT, SKT and LGT but offering considerable (30~40%) discount on voice, messaging and data transfers .

the difference ? comes without the Korea-wide conglomerate and even Global brand-name, without the extras : including accessible dedicated Support nor dependable international roaming . will provide more information on Posts mid-Page about each operators .