so i will be going to korea this winter and i would really like to buy a cellphone there (even if I know that they will probably not work where I live... ^^ ) but I'm not really sure if/how that will work. i read in the internet that it is really hard for a foreigner to get a cellphone in korea. any tips?

also, can I buy a cellphone without a plan? (also, really stupid question - if i buy just a cellphone there, I won't get a SIM card if i don't have a plan or something, right? will the basic functions still work or not?? (wow, i feel really stupid for asking this ^^))

i appreciate every advice i can get.

Korea's cellular phones don't use GSM so you can't just buy a phone without a contract. Basically it's a huge hassle because if you want to buy phones at an affordable price you have to sign up for a minimum 2 year contract and obviously you're not staying that long so you'll have to pay for the phone at a no-contract price which can be astronomically expensive, or so I hear? I think it might be better to just rent a phone or suck it up and go without one.

i already was afraid that it will be something like that.... but basically it would be possible to buy a no-contract cellphone somewhere? because then i could go there, look at the prices and decide then.... do you know something about that too?
thanks for helping

actually a lot of their phones now have 3G and GSM i guess what matters now is if they will sell you one and whether it's unlockable, also keep in mind that phones and a lot of other things are very expensive in Korea..

When I went to Korea over the summer, I was able to get a prepaid cell phone, where I would pay 20,000 won and use the phone (just text and voice calls) and, when the money was used up, I would simply go to another Show store and pay again. The thing is, you need to have proof that you are a foreigner living abroad, which is another hassle in itself. If you don't go to Korea very often or don't stay for long periods of time, there really is no point in making one of these.

what you are going to need to look for is a "card phone" 카드 폰
it's basically a pre-paid phone.
the price can range from 20,000 won ($20) to over 100,000won ($100).

there's not really a contract, you just write your name and address in korea. they'll also take a photocopy of your passport.

there are "official" shops (lg telecom, etc) that may or may not sell them. your best bet is to buy one from one of the many tiny shops that sells phones from a bunch of different companies.

when you go in, ask 카드 폰이 있어요? kadeu pon i isseo yo? (do you have card phones?).
they'll shake their head for yes or no, and if they do, they'll show you their selection.

the 2 that i've bought so far only have menus in korean.

it takes about 30 - 40 minutes to process everything, and of course you have to buy talk time for your phone.
prices for talk time start at 10,000won. you can't use internet and most of the special features with pre-paid.

when i went in 2007, it seemed like less and less places were doing pre-paid, so it'll be a search.

if you are in the US, you could possibly use sk telecom phones on the verizon wireless network.

what i did was i went to technomart and bought a used phone and just kept charging it as i needed to. we kept asking all the show, tworld and sk stores if they had prepaid phones and they said they couldn't sell them to foreigners. we ended up having to buy used ktf phones and we had to charge them up (money wise) and the t-world stores, but not every t-world store did it. also i heard in the airport you can rent them but i havent seen this myself. i was just there from august to september.