Getting a Korean phone number

Right now

1. 1Just landed: buy a SIM or eSIM at a carrier counter in the airport with your passport. KT, SK Telecom and LG U+ all run counters at Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae and Jeju.
2. 2Pick a plan that includes voice and text, not data only. On LG U+, a data-only SIM cannot receive verification texts at all.
3. 3Do not try to open a bank account or a government site with it. Those checks wait for a monthly plan, and that needs your Alien Registration Card.

What to have ready

• Passport: Enough to buy a tourist SIM or eSIM.
• A phone that accepts a Korean SIM: Ask your home carrier whether it is unlocked. For an eSIM, check that your model supports one.
• Alien Registration Card: Needed for a monthly plan.
• A Korean bank account or credit card: A monthly plan may ask for one to pay the bill. It differs by carrier.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

1. 1

   On arrival: buy a tourist SIM or eSIM with your passport

   Where:

   Carrier counters in the airport (KT, SK Telecom, LG U+)

   Cost:

   LG U+ lists its data-only SIM at 6,500 won for one day and 27,500 won for five days (checked 2026-09-25)

   The three carriers run roaming centers at Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae and Jeju airports, and a passport is all you need to buy. No reservation is needed at LG U+. Its Incheon counters at Terminal 1 Gate F and Terminal 2 Gate 3 are open 24 hours, while Terminal 1 Gate A and Terminal 2 Gate 8 open 06:00 to 22:00. An eSIM has no physical card: you install it on a supported phone instead of swapping a chip.

2. 2

   Choose voice and text if you want to receive codes

   LG U+ states that with a data-only SIM, SMS verification is not available, so an app that texts you a code will never get it. Its Data + Voice option supports SMS verification for restaurant and taxi reservation apps. Its validity also counts from your first use of data, so installing one before you fly is fine.

3. 3

   Know what a tourist SIM cannot do

   LG U+ says identity verification for banking or government services is not supported with its tourist SIM. SMS verification for restaurant and taxi reservation apps is supported. Treat this SIM as a way to get online and call a taxi, and leave banking and government sites for step 4.

4. 4

   Get your Alien Registration Card, then move to a monthly plan

   Where:

   A carrier shop (SK Telecom, KT or LG U+)

   Korea.net's guide is direct: prepaid works on a passport, and a monthly plan needs the Alien Registration Card. Some carriers also ask for a Korean bank account or credit card, and what you can sign up for can depend on your visa type. Each of the three carriers has staff who handle foreign customers, so ask for one. Keep the first plan cheap until the card comes, because the monthly plan is open to you afterwards.

5. 5

   Then connect the number to banking, delivery and quick pay

   Mobile verification checks your name, date of birth and number against what your carrier has on file, so a plan in your own name is what makes it work. If a service still refuses it, the cause is often that service's own rule for foreigners. Passing identity verification covers what to do next.

Watch it happen

Videos other people made, picked because they show a part of this guide that words cannot. They are not our sources: the rules and figures above come from the official pages listed at the end.

• 

  UPDATED SIM Cards, eSIM, and WiFi if you're traveling or moving to South Korea

  Channel: Megan Osten, English narration, auto-generated English subtitles

  The short tourist SIM and the longer plan you sign once you are resident are treated as two different purchases, which is the split this guide turns on.

  Open on YouTube

• 

  Best options? SIM card, Pocket Wifi, ESIM | Korea Travel

  Channel: Your Korea Friend, English narration, English and Japanese subtitles

  Sets a SIM card, a pocket wifi and an eSIM side by side, so you can see which of them actually gives you a Korean number and which only gives you data.

  Open on YouTube

The Korean words

본인인증bonin-injeung, identity verification

The identity check that many Korean services require.

선불seonbul, prepaid

You pay first and use up the balance. The tourist SIM kind.

후불hubul, postpaid, a monthly plan

You use the service and pay the monthly bill. Needs your Alien Registration Card.

개통gaetong, activation

Turning a SIM or a plan on. The word the counter staff will use.

알뜰폰altteul-pon, budget MVNO carrier

A carrier that rents a major network and sells it cheaper.

유심yusim, SIM card

The chip that holds your number.

외국인등록증oegugin-deungnokjeung, Alien Registration Card

The ID for long-term foreign residents. Asked for in many activations and contracts.

Easy to miss

• ·A data-only tourist SIM cannot receive verification texts, so an app that needs a code fails even though your internet works.
• ·On LG U+, a tourist SIM works for restaurant and taxi reservation apps but not for banks or government sites. Getting a number and passing identity checks are two different things.
• ·On LG U+ the validity clock starts at your first data use, not at purchase. Ask any other seller how theirs counts before you buy.

You can skip this if

• If you are here for a few days of travel, a tourist SIM or eSIM is all you need. The rest of this guide is for people who stay.
• If your employer or school arranges your phone plan, follow their instructions first.

Where this comes from

• Korea SIM FAQ, LG U+ (passport purchase, three SIMs per passport, what identity verification a tourist SIM supports)
• Korea SIM card, LG U+ (airport counters and hours, when validity starts, data-only prices)
• Electricity and communications, Korea Tourism Organization (SIM cards, eSIM and airport roaming centers)
• Getting mobile phone service, Korea.net (prepaid on a passport, monthly plan with an Alien Registration Card)
• HiKorea, Korea Immigration Service