We recommend you have some form of cell phone service or pocket WiFi to communicate both locally and internationally while in South Korea! For semester students, CIS Abroad will help you get a data SIM card for the first-month in-country. After that, you can choose to re-load the existing SIM card or purchase a new one depending on your texting, calling, and data needs.
Your cellphone will need to be unlocked to change the SIM card from your US SIM to a Korean SIM. You should call your cell phone provider in the US to see if your cell phone is unlocked, and if not, they can sometimes unlock it if you call early enough (1 month before your departure is recommended). You should also ask about the SIM card size capability, such as micro, nano, or e-SIM cards.
If you choose to change your SIM card after the initial one-month period, new SIM cards can be purchased for a set number of days, or topped up every month.
You can purchase them with limited or unlimited data. Since the WiFi in Korea is fairly accessible (and the fastest in the world, right now) having unlimited data isn’t totally necessary, but it depends on how much freedom you want to use your phone outside of WiFi.
It might cost you anywhere from 25-40 USD for the SIM card and the first month of data. After that, adding more data to your phone each month will be less expensive because you already have the SIM card.
Calling within South Korea
If you are using a Korean SIM card with a Korean number, you can dial the domestic phone number as usual. Korean phone numbers are 11 digits including a 3-number area code. They are written in this format (xxx) xxxx-xxxx.
Calling outside South Korea
If you are calling a US number from Korea, or you want to receive a phone call from abroad to your Korean number, you can follow these steps. Otherwise, it is recommended to use apps like Skype, Kakao, and WhatsApp to keep in contact with family. If you use an app like Kakao or WhatsApp to make a call, you shouldn’t have to worry about using the number code.
From Korea to Abroad
Dial the international dialing access code (001, 002, 008, 00345, 00700, 00388)
Dial the country code of the country you are calling (1 for the US).
Then dial the area code and phone number as usual
For example, to call the US number (123) 456-7890, dial +001-1-123-456-7890.
From Abroad to Korea
Dial the international dialing access code (typically 00, 011, or 0011)
Dial Korea’s country code (82).
Then dial the area code (010 or 10 for Seoul)
Add the phone number, generally 6 to 8 digits
Helpful Communication Apps
KakaoTalk: communication, most popular app in Korea and will be used by CIS, Gonzaga, and Sogang organizations during your program