Determined to get a new phone last Sunday, I went to T-world, Qook Show and LGu+ to check out my options. I decided to get either an Android or an iPhone in Korea and I was dead set on purchasing one before the end of the day. This is the story of how that DIDN'T happen.
I went to each of the stores and spoke to them about what they thought about each of their devices and what my options were. I decided to get an iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy S. I went to the northern part of Seoul near Gwanhwamun to go to the main office of Qook Show to get my iphone. I went there because that's the only place that foreigners can get an iphone in Seoul apparently. Korea has some laws or perhaps regulatory policies enacted by the carriers that prevent foreigners from purchasing smartphones easily. Basically, they are afraid that we'll bail on the bill etc before the contract is up. So we're forced to buy the device outright without a device subsidy. The cost of an iPhone or the Galaxy S is an astounding 900,000 KRW. This is close to $780USD...wow. So I decided to go for the iphone. I went up to the cashier and told the guy there that I was a foreigner and that I wanted to buy an iphone. He told me that there was a 2-3 week wait list for an iphone and that I could sign up to wait. Exasperated, I left the store. It wasn't that important that I get the iphone. I already have an ipod touch (love it) and I figured I'd try out the Galaxy S, which is offered by SK Telecom.
At the SK Telecom store, I went up to the guy behind the counter and spoke to him for several minutes about the various options and the pricing. Again, he confirmed that as a foreigner with my specific visa (E7), I wasn't eligible to receive any device subsidies or have the option of spreading out the cost of my smartphone over a span of several months. Basically I would have to shell out about $780USD (900,000KRW) to get the Galaxy S. sigh.
I left the store and walked around a bit, looked at some watches in Myungdong and then went back to the SK Telecom store determined to buy the phone. I went up to the same guy and he asked if I had made up my mind. I told him that I had decided to go for the Galaxy S and if he could sign me up. We talked about plans and some different color options. I found that the plans in Korea were very reasonable and I was happy with my decision. It would be nice to try out an Android phone as my primary means of communication. We sat down to go through the options and to go through the purchasing process. He then tells me that since it's Sunday, the credit card machines have been put away because they can't process credit card payments on Sunday. Nor can they activate phones on Sunday. I was stunned. The SK Telecom store was packed with people and there were people looking at various phones and options. I asked him,"Then why are you guys even open today?!" He said, "We only take cash on Sundays and phones that are purchased today are activated on Monday." Man. I couldn't believe this! This is actually the 2nd time that this has happened to me. A few weeks ago, I went to the post office on a Saturday afternoon and when I tried to pay for a service, I was informed that on weekends, cash is the only method of payment accepted because they put away the credit/debit card machines for the weekend. WTF! I went on a wild goose chase looking for an ATM that would accept foreign debit cards. Anyway, back to the story...I told him I didn't carry almost $800 in cash around with me normally and that I might as well come back on Monday when I can get the phone activated.
So this is the story of how I spent a day researching and deciding on which phone to get only to be denied because of weird corporate policies against credit/debit cards on weekends.
Tomorrow, I will try to get myself a personal phone again. And I hope it works. I hate the idea of paying so much for a phone because I know how much carriers pay the OEMs for these phones. These Korean carriers are really taking a huge profit from each device sale and it really kills me that I'm forced to fork up so much money.
There is one last option that I will consider. Korean carriers will not allow smartphones purchased abroad to be used on their networks without first having the devices 'registered'. Basically what this means is that the carrier must put the ESN or IMEI of the device in question on their whitelist. This is a very simple process that I am somewhat familiar with from my days at TELUS. Sounds easy, right? Just add the ESN or IMEI into the provisioning system of the carrier. Unfortunately, it's a rip off to do this. It costs about $300USD to get your foreign phone whitelisted. I didn't want to spend that much money to do this, but seeing as how I may have to pay close to $800 for a new phone, I may just pay $300 to get my old BlackBerry whitelisted on SK Telecom.
Frustration all around.
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