Have you heard Korea that gave birth to IT
giant Samsung and LG have free wifi everywhere? If you visit Korea unprepared based
on the rumor, you could not be more wrong. In order to prevent you from visiting
coffee shops ten times a day just to get WiFi, I rounded up ways to get
connected in Korea.
9th. Visiting Coffee shops every time you need WiFi
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Except for Coffee bean (coffee chain),
pretty much all the coffee shops provide WiFi. Since you would not wanna drink
coffee every time you need WiFi, don’t be too serious about the coffee shop
thing.
8th. PocketWiFi Korea
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| Pocket wifi |
It’s a recently established pocket WiFi
rental company in Korea. Pocket wifi is a small portable device that send WiFi
signal and a few people can use it simultaneously. You will have to meet up a
guy to pick up and return the device at Incheon airport. There always is a chance
you might not be able to meet the guy and the customer service is rather poor.
7th. KoreaWiFi.net
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| Koreawifi.net |
Though this small pocket WiFi rental
company has been in the market for quite a while, there is no online
reservation and payment system as yet. Reservation is done via email, daily
rental fee is 5,000 won, and pick up and return point is either her office (far from
city center) or your hotel (10,000~15,000won service charge). The website can be found here.
6th. Olleh One day WiFi-Pass
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| Olleh |
Convenience stores sell a WiFi-Pass at 3,000
won. You could have access WiFi using ID and password stated on the pass. Since
Olleh hotspot zone is very limited, if you want to get constant signal, let’s
scroll down and skip this part.
5th. EG Sim Card (3G)
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| Eg Sim Card |
Evergreen mobile is selling prepaid Sim
just for foreigners. You could buy it at designated stores or online and pick
up at the airport. Price varies depending on data capacity, but 30,000 won Sim is
the most popular. Being Sim, it is quite easy to use, but it’s extremely
complicated to register and it is super expensive and slow (nobody uses 3G in
Korea anymore).
4th. Smartphone rental and tethering
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| Pixabay/bohed |
You could rent a smartphone from SK roaming
counter at every airport. The daily rate is 9,000 won with 1Gb data provided. You
will have to pay for the bill as much as you make phone calls. 9,000 won per day
for 1Gb of 3G network is rather expensive. If you have never used a smartphone and
want to use it, it is definitely recommendable.
3rd. Olleh Egg
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| Olleh Official Blog |
The famous Olleh Egg is actually the name
of the Olleh WiFi router. It’s so famous most foreigners still call any kinds
of WiFi router ‘Egg’. Since Olleh Egg is based on Wibro network, its speed and
coverage are far worse than LTE (4g) network. Its battery also does not last
long, but, by and large, it is pretty awesome. Daily rental is 8,000 won and
pick up and return are possible at the Incheon, Gimpo, and Gimhae international airport, but not at your accommodation.
1st. LG Uplus LTE router
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| Digital Times |
Based on LTE network, you could enjoy fast connection
anywhere in Korea. Daily rate is 8,000 won, and you could rent it at the above three airports. Since battery only lasts 4~5 hours, you
should prepare an external battery (power bank). This is the one of the best
option you could get in Korea. You can found the information here.
WiFi-Korea provides two models of pocket
WiFi routers, UDP and ESP, at 3,000 and 4,000 won a day. Especially ESP, the
most up-to-date router model, boasts super connection that covers the entire Korean
territory. In terms of speed and battery life, other service providers are no
match for ESP. You could pick up and return at Incheon airport, your accommodation (anywhere in S.Korea) and WiFi Korea office at the heart of Seoul. They also have exquisite customer
service.
More Korea
1. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK KOREAN WEATHER! IT CAN BE A BIT NASTY! / BY JOONMO
2. 7 USEFUL TIPS AT KOREAN RESTAURANTS / BY KARLY
3. 6 TOURIST SPOTS IN JEJU ISLAND THAT WOULD HEAL WEARY SOULS / BY KARLY
4. 5 BEAUTIFUL ROYAL PALACES IN KOREA / BY JOONMO
1. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK KOREAN WEATHER! IT CAN BE A BIT NASTY! / BY JOONMO
2. 7 USEFUL TIPS AT KOREAN RESTAURANTS / BY KARLY
3. 6 TOURIST SPOTS IN JEJU ISLAND THAT WOULD HEAL WEARY SOULS / BY KARLY
4. 5 BEAUTIFUL ROYAL PALACES IN KOREA / BY JOONMO
Written by Marcus
He was born in Singapore and went to schools in China and Australia. Having Engineering background, he have worked in Japan and South Korea before finally settled in Seoul. When he is not working, he loves to go on a quick trip to anywhere he wants to go with his beautiful wife.
Nice blog! Thank you for sharing this informative blog about the different ways to stay connected to internet in korea and the benefits of Pocket Wifi. Pocket wifi is a small portable device that send WiFi signal and a few people can use it simultaneously. This blog is very beneficial to choose reliable portable wifi company in South Korea. Keep sharing.
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