# Cell Service in South Korea

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551 "2008-11-26T14:21:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551/1 "2008-11-26T14:21:39Z")

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My wife is traveling to Korea for a month, and it looks like her cell phone won’t work there. (She has a Net10 prepaid phone). Are there any other prepaid phones that she can buy here in the states that will work over there?

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**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551/2 "2008-11-26T14:56:33Z")

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Why not buy one there?

My boss lectures abroad alot, he has pre-paid sim cards for a variety of countries.

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**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551/3 "2008-11-26T15:02:51Z")

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If you can get your phone “unlocked” you can buy one there with little trouble.

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-service-in-south-korea/474551/4 "2008-11-26T15:22:42Z")

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South Korea uses CDMA, but its own version (with SIM cards, I believe). AFAIK, you pretty much have to buy or rent a phone for there. I don’t know whether GSM-3G phones like the iPhone will work there, as they do in Japan.