Korea eSIM Redを使用するにあたって、注文時にQRコードを送るEメールアドレスを提供すること以外に、いかなる個人情報を提供、登録する必要がない。メールでQRコードさえ受け取れば、別途のオンライン開通プロセスなしにスマートフォンでQRコードをスキャン、使用設定して希望時に開通してサービスを利用できる。
It is the same with every foreign country, but when traveling through Korea, smartphone internet is one of the top 3 necessary travel arrangements along with airline tickets and lodging. In the present 2024, when considering many factors, the best eSIM product while traveling through Korea is the Korea eSIM Red from SK Telecom, the number 1 mobile carrier of Korea in Korean penetration, which provides unlimited data service. Below are the 8 reasons why. If you have any questions, or disagreements we welcome feedback. This will be updated in our later versions.
Most mobile telecommunication services decrease internet speed when you use a lot of data. For instance, even if you have unlimited data when over 1GB is used in a day the speed noticeably decreases. However, Korea eSIM Red has no speed decrease regardless of usage. Along Korea’s top 3 mobile carrier companies SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, only SK Telecom is providing this service through Korea eSIM Red. Of course, data sharing and tethering are also possible.
2. You can finish setting and scanning before your departure.
If you order your eSIM product, you will receive an eSIM QR code through email. So, when should you scan this and use the settings? Then, you wonder. “Can’t I just safely scan and set this up now at home? If I scan this in Korea, and the settings don’t work, it’ll be a hassle.”
To be brief, if you use Korea eSIM Red you can scan and use settings before departing to Korea whenever you want. If you scan and find the words ‘activating…’ in settings, you can boot your cell phone and use it right away in Korea. Of course, the time of usage also starts from the moment you turn on your phone in Korea.
3. There is no fear of failing setup.
If your eSIM settings don’t successfully work, you can visit the SK Telecom booth in Korea, located in every airport, and worst-case scenario, they will change your product to USIM and help with settings. SK Telecom is the only mobile carrier that has booths at every airport in Korea. (For instance in Jeju International Airport SK Telecom is the only carrier booth that you’ll find.)
4. You can use your use time efficiently for longer.
The time of use counts not by days but by hours, so you can use the service for the longest interpretable time. For example, a 5-day product activated on August 3rd, 10 PM can be used until August 8th, 10 PM. For other eSIM products, most of their usage time is shortened by the day. Therefore, if the product is activated at 10 PM, a day is spent just after 2 hours of use.
5. It can have voice calls and messages through the 010 Korean mobile number.
In many cases of prepaid eSIMs, service is provided only through data and does not provide a mobile number, or provides a 012 number. However, the actual mobile number that Koreans use is 010. Korea eSIM Red provides a 010 number, and you can use unlimited free incoming calls and messages. And in this case, you can get the eSIM QR code immediately on order.
And for outgoing features about voice and texts, you can just visit https://krsim.net/esimreg and start to use them.
6. There is no procedure where you have to provide or register additional personal information.
When using Korea eSIM Red you do not need to provide or register any other personal information except your email address, used when sending you your QR code after purchase if you want just unlimited data only service. After you receive the QR code by mail, you can scan and set it up, then activate and use the service whenever you want without any additional online activation process.
7. It has the cheapest price.
The 3 local Korean mobile carrier companies (SKT, KT, LG Uplus) have almost the same eSIM price per period. KT and LG UPlus occasionally have events that sell their products with a 10% discount in case of online pre-order. However, at Korea SIM (krsim.net), the official partner of SK Telecom, you can buy Korea eSIM Red always with over 21% discount, and buy eSIM at the cheapest price among the three.
Among the three local mobile carrier companies in Korea, SK Telecom is the only carrier company that has 24-hour customer service providing languages such as English, Japanese, and Chinese. Having an agency that can help solve your problem when it occurs is surely a great advantage.
You can even visit SK Telecom Roaming Booth in the all international airports. They are located in Incheon (Terminal 1& 2), Gimpo, Jeju, Gimhae, Daegu international airport and in Busan Harbor. Especially, in the Jeju international airport, the second largest international airport in Korea, SK Telecom is the only Telecom company who has help desk of all 3 major Korean telecom companies.
The ultimate and precise Tips for prepaid mobile solutions for Korea including coping with Q-Code and K-ETA system regarding Covid-19 Quarantine in Incheon International Airport in South Korea
Korea eSIM Red site image
I. For unlocked eSIM-supported smartphones (Unlimited Data + Phone number for receiving voice and messages)
Ask the phone number for you through the messenger on krsim.net with your order number on one day before the date you designate as a delivery pick up. (If it is weekend or holiday, on the prior working day)
Check ‘I do not possess a mobile phone’ and input the phone number of the hotel as an available contact phone number in Korea.
Boarding a plane and landing at Incheon International Airport.
Pass the immigration and collect baggage.
Visit SK Telecom Desk and pick-up USIM (check the phone number). a. Terminal 1 : between Gate #9~#10; 24/7 operation b. Terminal 2 : between Gate #4~#5; 24/7 operation
Update to the phone number for Korea SIM Gold on the Q-Code system. * 1 day product is for data only without number
IV. Promotion code for krsim.net
When you try to order Korea eSIM Red or Sky, please use the promotion code, “medium23Jan” then, you can get additional discount benefit. It is unclear when it will be over.
3) Ask the phone number for you through the messenger on krsim.net with your order number on one day before the date you designate as a delivery pick up. (If it is weekend or holiday, on the prior working day)
2) Receive voucher email including order number (in a few minutes)
3) Contact to Q-Code system ( https://cov19ent.kdca.go.kr/cpassportal/ ) and input your information. Check ‘I do not possess a mobile phone’ and input the phone number of the hotel as a available contact phone number in Korea.
4) Boarding a plane and landing at Incheon International Airport.
5) Pass the immigration and collect baggage.
6) Visit SK Telecom Desk and pick-up USIM (check the phone number).
a. Incheon Airport Terminal 1 : between Gate #9~#10; 24 hours / 7 days
b. Incheon Airport Terminal 2 : between Gate #4~#5; 24 hours / 7 days
7) Update to the phone number for Korea SIM Gold on the Q-Code system.
Korea SIM Gold which offers Korean phone number for Covid-19 Quarantine
Detail
Starting April 1, Officials announced that travelers who have completed vaccination overseas and registered their vaccination history with Quarantine COVID19 Defense (Q-Code) system will be able to enter South Korea without a seven-day quarantine period. However, this does not apply to vaccinated visitors from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Myanmar, and must quarantine for seven days.
If you are considered as a fully vaccinated traveler, you must have received two doses of a WHO-approved vaccine (1st for Jansen) 14 days before arrival (valid up to 180 days) or received a third( booster) shot (there is no limit to number of days post booster shot).
Some restrictions haven’t changed for arrivals. PCR tests are still required for people entering Korea. They must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 48 hours of their departure. Another PCR test must be taken the day after arrival at a public health center. The third test on the seventh day is still required, but it can be an antigen test starting next month.
Q-CODE (Quarantine COVID19 Defense System)
International visitors must register their vaccine status on the Q-CODE website before arriving in Korea. The QR code will be provided which you must scan at immigration. When registering, Q-CODE will ask for your personal information (including passport number), entry information (departure country, airline, address in Korea, phone number) and vaccine records. Anyone who inputs normal quarantine information through Q-code will be able to be fast and convenient quarantine inspection.
Furthermore, you can only input all the information on the Q-Code website within 2 days from your departure date because one of the information you must input is the PCR negative test result which must take place within 48 hours from departure date.
If you input false or inaccurate information related to the Q-code, you may incur a penalty or be subjected to entry restriction in accordance with the relevant laws and ordinances of the Republic of Korea. The same law applies when you submit false or inaccurate QR-code by proxy.
1. If your device is an eSIM-supported smartphone,
Some of the recently released smartphones have an eSIM function. Even if you don’t have to use a physical SIM card, you can enjoy the same effect as inserting a physical SIM card into your iPhone through download. It is the most convenient and recommended way. You can check whether your smartphone supports eSIM in Setting. If your phone is not bound(locked) to a mobile carrier and appear as shown on the screen above in the setting, I strongly recommend using eSIM.
Korea eSIM Red and Sky are the only two eSIM products that currently provides Korean phone numbers, so there is no other choice. It provides unlimited data. With eSIM Red, you can enjoy unlimited data with no speed down in Korea. For Sky, To be precise, 3GB full speed is provided unlimitedly per day, and after using 3GB, unlimited data is provided at 5Mbps. And a new 3GB will be provided again at midnight every day. The 5Mbps speed is even possible for YouTube streaming.
eSIM Red is from SK Telecom and eSIM Sky from LG Uplus, You can purchase them cheaper if you purchase it on the Korea SIM card website than directly from SK Telecom or LG Uplus.
You can receive an e-mail with a QR code and a Korean phone number (in a few minutes) after ordering. The email voucher already contained a Korean phone number, so you can input the quarantine information in Q-code from the time of purchasing a flight ticket and preparing for travel, before boarding a flight to Korea.
As soon as getting off the plane at Incheon International Airport, you can apply for online activation(in case of eSIM Sky) and scan the QR code with airport Wi-Fi. The next steps are the same as normal immigration procedures.
2. if your phone doesn’t support eSIM ,
In this case, Korea SIM Gold is a best choice. It is a product provided by SK Telecom, Korea’s No. 1 mobile carrier, and SK Telecom is collaborating with Incheon International Airport.
Korea SIM Gold is basically a USIM that provides unlimited data without speed limits, but it also provides additional functions such as incoming voice calls and text messages with Korean phone numbers (Starting 010- ) when ordering online and picking up at the airport. Since outgoing voice calls and text messages are impossible, voice calls can be made using data such as FaceTime and Messenger app. You don’t need an activation process, and you can use it after rebooting 2-3 times your phone.
Like eSIM, it is recommended to purchase on the Korea SIM card website at a lower price than on the SK Telecom website. (Photo)
When ordering online, the order number is listed in the e-mail you receive, and you can pick-up USIM by showing this order number to SK Telecom Desk. The USIM contains a Korean phone number starting with 010. Depending on the terminal you arrive at (Terminal 1 or Terminal 2), the pick-up location and operating time can be different.
SK Telecom desk is located in the arrival hall after quarantine, immigration, and baggage claim. Therefore, you need to input your information in Q-Code system before receiving SIM card. If you check ‘I do not possess a mobile phone’ on the stay information page, you can enter the phone number of the hotel as an available contact phone number in Korea. In other words, you can input the temporary available phone number first, and then you can update the number after picking SIM card up. After passing the quarantine inspection and entering the country with the QR code through Q-Code system, you can visit the SK Telecom desk and pick it up the SIM card. When you receive it, you can notify the changed information to the quarantine officer in Korea.
If you have been ever to Korea and have made choices for some prepaid SIM services for foreigners in the past 3 years, I guess that you may have heard the SIM card which is called “EG mobile”. It is the name of the company, that started prepaid SIM business for foreigners about 3 years ago, in 2013. It concentrated on the sales in shops around Incheon Int’l Airport, Korean convenience store GS25, (in offline) and internet open market shop (in online).
EG SIM which offer 1GB data at KRW30,000
At that time, there were no competitors in the market and the contents they provide was reasonable to the price. It was so small company that it didn’t worry about Korean government regulation which was not determined at that time (what condition must legally be fulfilled to activate the prepaid SIM for travelers… and so on), and invested aggressively in marketing their products whereas the potential competitors hesitated to enter the business worrying the uncertainty in policy and waited for the decision regarding the market regulation. Sometimes it was recklessly too brave to offend the government. Anyway, as the result, it became the name of prepaid SIM in Korea, itself. It’s the reason why you encounter the name so often in Google search results about prepaid SIM in Korea.
One of the Korean Top Actors, Song Joong Gi became the model of kt(Korea Telecom)
But as time went by, the direction of government regulation became somewhat concrete. At last, the subsidiary company of “kt” (korea telecom; the no. 1 telecommunication company who has the most subscribers in S. Korea), “kt Mmobile” began to play in the market and to take up the position in 2015. They have supplied their kt Mmobile SIM card for travelers to the Korean major 2 convenience stores, the Seven-Eleven(7-11) and CU since then and opened internet shopping site, krsim.net, too. Finally, travelers have become to enjoy the trustful services that the Korean top telecommunication company provides.
kt Mmobile SIM which offer 1GB at KRW29,900
On 1st. March, 2016. GS25 came to be out from the Arrival floor in Incheon Int’l Airport and EG mobile lost the place to sell their products there. Now the Airport has only three CU convenience store there, so kt Mmobile SIM card comes to be the most dominant and popular prepaid SIM card for traveler in S. Korea, now.
One of the 3 CU convenience stores on the arrival floor in the Incheon Int’l Airport, S. Korea
Arrival Floor (1F) in Incheon International Airport, Where Over 80% of All Prepaid SIM in S. Korea for Travelers Sales Occur
What is the way to be connected in Korea as a short-time travelers with your smartphone, now? There are so many articles that compare one with another. But I found that the information they showed was so out of date that it could mislead travelers rather than helped them.
I had been a researcher (as to Korean mobile telecommunication policy and industry sector) in the public institute for over 10 years, and am following the issue. Recently prepaid SIM market for travelers seems to be growing rapidly and catch my interest.
Then, what on earth is the best prepaid SIM in S. Korea for travelers?
Prepaid eSIM in Korea 