How to buy a cell phone in Korea . Getting a smartphone in Korea in the cheapest way.

 If you are from another country, getting a cell phone in Korea might be an annoying thing. In this article, I'm not going to talk about buying a simcard for an unlocked phone because it is too easy and the price of buying a simcard is almost same at most of the cell phone dealerships in Korea.


 If you are a Korean citizen or have a valid resident visa such as working visa or permanent visa, you will be able to buy a flagship smartphone with a contract in Korea.  However, how could you buy a new cell phone with a two year contract without getting ripped off in Korea? Many cell phone dealers in Korea try to rip you off even if you are a Korean. It might be much harder to deal with them if you are a foreighner.

1. What should I ask to a cell phone dealer?

할부원금  (hal boo won gum)

It literality means installment principal. It is the core price of your device. Yes. hal-boo-won-gum is the only word you need to remember if you are trying to buy a smartphone with a contract in Korea.

If you want to buy an iphone or an Android phone in Korea, go to a dealer and ask how much the hal-boo-won-gum on the cell phone is.

Say like:

아이폰5s 할부원금 얼마에요? (Iphone5s hal-boo-won-gum earl ma eyo?)

갤럭시 노트 할부원금 얼마에요?  (Galaxy note hal-boo-won-gum earl ma eyo?)

Or just slowly say "How much is the hal-boo-won-gum on the iphone5s?" in English. Remember that you have to say very slowly when you say this as they don't understand English very well.

Believe me. I have worked for a KT Olleh dealership. If you ask a cell phone dealer in Korea about hal-bu-won-gum, he will think like "omg, this guy knows something. I have to be careful."

If he doesn't tell you the hal-boo-won-gum on that phone, LEAVE that store. Chances are that he is trying to rip you off.

Don't be confused with other words like 실구매가 or 할부기계값. If he tries to use another word other than hal-boo-won-gum, LEAVE that store.

If he doesn't tell you hal-boo-won-gum and tries to tell you how much you have to pay monthly and the discount or cashback they are trying to give you, LEAVE that store.

Believe me. The discounts and paybacks are ALL same at EVERY store because it is their carrier's policy, not the dealership's policy.

 Here is an example. Click the image if it is not big enough. You will see that hal-boo-won-gum is the core price of your device and it actually determines your monthly bill. In this case, the hal-boo-won-gum of this LG G2 is 578,000 Korean won. If you don't mention about hal-boo-won-gum, they will try to charge you like 800,000 or 900,000 and tells you only the price of your device AFTER the discount. Even many Koreans get ripped off by these cell phone dealers.

 Also, never be confused with FREE phones. If they say a free phone, that means the price AFTER the discount is zero. So that means the hal-boo-won-gum on the free phone is actually 17,600 mohtly discount x 24 = 422,400 Korean won if you choose the LTE 620 plan.

 So when you buy a smartphone in Korea, ask the hal-boo-won-gum of the phone you want to buy.


2. Where to buy

 I would suggest you that you avoid local dealerships. They are your biggest enemies. They try to rip you off even if you are a Korean and dealing with them as a foreighner would be unimaginable.

 If you speak Korean very well, the best place to buy a smart phone would be the websites called ppomppu.com or ppuang.com. They are way much cheaper than offline dealerships and you can save hundreds of dollars.

 However, many of these online dealers don't accept your application if you are a foreighner. so if you want to buy a smart phone offline, go to the BIG 3.


 The big three are :

-Hi mart

-Digital Plaza (Samsung)

-Best Shop (LG)

 Hi mart is a very decent place to buy a cell phone. It is like a Korean version of Best Buy. Their prices are usually better than the small local dealers and they sometimes have very good deals. So check out them when you buy a smartphone in Korea.

Samsung Digital Plaza could be your choice if you want to buy a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or a Pantech Vega smartphone. Their prices are same in every branch so you can just visit just one of the Digital Plazas and you will know their great deals.

Best shop is your exclusive dealership of LG products. If you want to buy an LG G2 or LG Optimus series, I would recommend them.


After all, there are much more to say about buying a smartphone but I will end here. Just remember these things.

1. Ask for hal-boo-won-gum

2. If they don't tell you the hal-boo-won-gum price and try to tell you something else, don't buy a phone from them.

3. There is no free phone. Free smartphone means it is zero after the discount so the actual core price of your phone will be your monthly discount x 24 months.

Pantech Vega Iron Android smartphone unboxing hands-on full review

If you are interested in smartphone, you probably know the Korean manufacturers like Samsung and LG companies. However, you might have not heard about another great South Korean smartphone manufacturer called Pantech. Pantech focuses on its domestic market in Korea so many international buyers might not be familiar with its name. Founded in 1991, Pantech has been producing great cellphones for two decades. You will be surprised to hear that Pantech is actually selling more Android smartphones than LG in Korea now. Pantech smartphones' quality is very great. Their specs are almost same as Samsung's newest smartphones but their prices are sometimes much cheaper. You can get a very great smartphone for a much greater price.

I finally got a Pantech Vega Iron from an online cellphone dealership site called ppomppu. The box of the Vega Iron looks very sleek and luxurious. There are two colors you can choose. Black and white. As you can see, this one is a black Vega Iron.

This is the first look of the Pantech Vega Iron. As you can guess from its name IRON, its edge is made of metal. It makes it look very cool.

This is what you get from the package when you open the box. There are two batteries , earphones , screen protector film , charger and a USB cable.

The Vega Iron has a 5.0 inch High Bright In-cell display. The screen is very clear and bright. Yes, it is an HD display. The resolution is fantastic. You will be surprised when you actually see the screen.

As you can see from the green button at the bottom left, this is a VoLTE phone. VoLTE means Voice over LTE. You can enjoy HD voice calls over this Pantech smartphone.

The Pantech Vega Iron has Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on it. Pantech says it will upgrade it to Android 4.2 or 4.3 .

This is a free screen protector film that you get for free when you buy a Vega Iron. You don't have to waste extra money if you buy this smartphone.

LG uplus LTE micro sim card

So far, I have been amazed by this smartphone. The battery last fairly long. The 13 million pixel camera can also take great pictures. 

If you live in Korea, I would definitely recommend this Vega Iron.

I tested the Vega Iron using an Android app called Antutu Benchmark. As you can see, my Vega Iron got a higher score than the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2. This result is very amazing. This Vega Iron smartphone is definitely a superphone. You can get a smartphone that is faster and better than the Galaxy S4 for a much better price. I can definitely recommend a Vega Iron to anyone who lives in Korea.

Seokchon Lake cherry blossom festival in Seoul , South Korea

If you are living or staying in Seoul, Korea , this is the best time to go to cherry blossom festivals. Those pink and white flowers are absolutely gorgeous now. Many people choose to go to Yeouido island. However, if you are living in Songpa or Jamsil , Seokchon lake might be the best place to enjoy cherry blossoms.

If you go to Seokchon Lake, you have to go to Jamsil station exit 2 or 3. Then, you have to go south. 

There were many people to spend their weekends at the cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake. The cherry blossom flowers were in full bloom.

The trail around the Lake was surrounded by the cherry blossom flowers.

You can see Lotte World Magic Island from Seokchon Lake.

There is a bridge that connects Magic Island and Seokchon Lake but you can't cross it because there is a guard around it.

Everyone was busy taking pictures. 

There were some American soldiers at the cherry blossom festival.

American soldiers at the cherry blossom festival.

There was a music concert going on at the festival.

Another view of Lotte World Magic Island.

If you are circling the lake at the cherry blossom festival, you will notice that there is another trail upside.

You can also see the construction site of the Lotte World Premium Tower (the second Lotte World tower) from Seokchon Lake.

The clock tower at Seokchon Lake. It is already 6:25 pm.

A spectacular view of an evening glow.

Travelling in Korea - Andong City Mural Art village

There have been some old slum towns in Korea that were formed in the 60s and 70s. As the country's economy grows, the government decided to redevelop them and many of these old towns were torn down.

However, some of these villages have tried to survive by renovating and redesigning themselves. Here you can see one of the villages that painted murals on their walls.

This town is located in Andong City, Gyeongsangbuk-do and called Andong Byuckhwa Maul (안동 벽화 마을) which means Andong mural village.

We first headed to Andong Station from Seoul. It takes almost 3 hours by train. Remember, the KTX doesn't stop at Andong. Therefore, you have to take the Mugunghwa Ho train.

When you arrive in Andong, you have to cross this street infront of the station.

After you cross the street, you have to turn right and keep walking.

When you see this gate, you have to turn right and walk for about 10 minutes.

When you see this byway, you are finally at Andong Mural Art Village.

There is a map at the entrance of the town. Don't worry about a ticket. It's free.

This is the first mural you will see at Andong Mural Town. It's an image of a typical Korean family.

A man delivering Chinese food on the wall. All the pictures here are quite humorous.

Azalea flowers. They are called "Jin Dal Rae" in Korean.

A mural on a wall that was painted by elementary school kids.

This art on the wall kinda looks childish and messy but quite cool too.

Yellow dandelion flowers. They are pronounced "Min dlrea" in Korean.

Former Korean president Roh Moo Hyun

Yay, sunflower murals. The painting is actually quite bigger than it appears on your computer.

There is a dog peeing at a telephone pole. This is quite funny.

Cute squirrels eating fruits. This town is very colorful compared to other Korean towns.

A butterfly, ladybug and flowers. This mural is very pretty.

Pink frogs on the wall.

This art village is quite colorful and very impressive. Of course, it is free too. However, one thing that was weird is that there are almost no one in this town. It was like 2:00 pm when we got here and we saw ZERO person in this art village. It was very quiet and it kinda felt like a ghost town.

It might be hard to find this place because there are no bus stops around the village and people don't speak English well around here. I don't recommend this place if you are a foreigner. 

However, if you really want to visit here, take a cab and say Andong Byuck Hwa Mauel (안동 벽화 마을) to the cab driver.

Trip to Korea - Andong Hahoe Folk Village travel guide

Last saturday, we travelled to a city called Andong. It is a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty and located in Gyeongsangbuk-do in South Korea. The village is listed by the South Korea with UNESCO as a World Heritage site with Yangdong Folk Village in 2010.

First, we had to get on the train in Seoul. You can take the train either at Seoul Station or Cheongryang-ri Station. We arrived at Cheongryang-ri Station at 9:00 AM.

We finally arrived at Andong Station. It took almost 3 hours to get to Andong by train. The station is quite smaller than the train stations in Seoul.

After you cross the street and turn left, there are pink buses lined up. You have to check the schedule of the bus that goes to the Andong Hahoe Folk Village.

When you get on the bus, make sure that you get this coupon. You have to transfer to another bus later and you don't have to pay again if you have this free ticket.

This is the place where you will transfer to another bus. If you didn't get the free pass coupon above, you have to buy another ticket.

This is the bus stop.

This is the bus that will finally take you to the Andong Hahoe Folk Village.

After you get off the bus, the first thing you will see is the Andong Hahoe Mask Dance theater.

There are dancing clowns wearing Hahoe masks.

This famous Andong Hahoe Dance Drama dates back to Joseon Dynasty.

There is a male clown dressed as a woman. The Hahoe mask dance is very famous in Korea but it is quite boring. I recommend you to skip it if you don't like looking at a boring musical especially when it is in a language that you don't understand.

We decided to leave the theater and go into the village. There are these Korean traditional totem pole at the entrance.

A tile-roofed house called Giwajip (기와집)

Hundreds years ago, tile-roofed houses are where rich people used to live.

You can see a thatched house made of mud. In Korea, these houses are called Chogajip (초가집). Compared to tile-roofed houses, common and poor people usually lived in these thatched houses.

There is a souvenir store in the Andong Hahoe Folk Village. You can buy the famous Korean Hahoe mask here.

A traditional Korean house called Hanok (한옥).

There was a beautiful chogajip (초가집) in the Andong Hahoe village.

There are some narrow paths between Hanok houses. It makes you feel like you are really in the Joseon Dynasty.

There is a huge tree in the middle of Hahoe Village. It says it is over 600 years old. During the Joseon Dynasty, this tree was believed to be holy and shamans used to exorcise the town of an evil spirit.

There was a big gate in the middle of the village so we decided to go into the house. I must belong to a rich guy long time ago.

This huge Hanok house definitely belonged to a rich guy hundreds years ago.

Inside the Hanok house. It was almost empty. No furniture here. I noticed that there are not many residents in this town.

Andong Hahoe Village is surrounded by a river. That is why this village was undamaged during the Japanese invasion in 1592.

The big cooking pots called Agungi.

Pine trees near the Hahoe Village.

After all, Andong Hahoe Village is a pretty boring place. I went there with eight people and most of them said they were disappointed. The town is pretty small and there are not many things to look around except the same old houses. This place is also too far from Seoul. If you are in Seoul, I recommend you to go to Namsan Hanok village in the Pil-dong area on the skirt of Namsan instead of here.