Getting connected to Korea

I will say Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world. You can access the internet and wi-fi connections from anywhere. It's amazing. I managed to get a phone but I had to sign a contract. I went with one of my co-teachers and we got it but if you don't know what kind of phone you want it makes it more difficult. I know I wanted a smart phone. It is similar to an ipod but just a different company. I wanted a phone where I could text, use internet and listen to music. I decided on the Samsung Galaxy SI model. The guy at the T-world shop in Daegu recommended it to me. Well there are many hurdles you have to leap over to get a phone here if you want a nice one.

Ok first off, you have to have what’s called an alien registration card or a document that identifies you as an employee here in South Korea. There are two main providers in Korea. There is SK and KT, these company work with you to help pay for your phone services every month but there’s a catch. You have to pay the money back. There are three types of phones in Korea. There is a normal, pre-paid or pay as you go, and a smart phone. Pre-paid phones are nice for travelers here in South Korea and pay as you go work well if you don’t spend a lot of time using the phone everyday. However, the smart phone is the top phone as it provides everything to people including; internet, texting, gps and maps, watching TV, playing video games and so much more.

Now the thing I don’t get is how they come up with the numbers for the monthly fees. I watched them add the numbers and it still doesn’t make sense to me, lol. Since I’m in a contract with the phone company I have to continue paying for a certain time period or I have to pay a penalty if I break the contract. It’s nice though because I made a good friend at the phone shop. The guy sat down with me for a little while and talked with me in both Korean and English. His name was Jang Wook Yang. He was so nice. We talked about my travels here last summer and that I was a swim coach in America. I told him I was a fan of Park Tae-Hwan and Park Ji sung which surprised him. He told me I was his first foreign customer which was funny. He said, “I’ll make sure to take care of you and handle any problems you have.” He said he will never forget me since I was his first customer from abroad. We have conversations from time to time which is nice.