Passing identity verification

Right now

1. 1If you have a Korean phone number in your own name, try mobile phone verification first. A tourist SIM number does not count for banks or government sites.
2. 2If you have a foreigner registration number, you can also clear checks that ask for it.
3. 3If neither works, check whether the service allows passport verification or an in-person visit.

What to have ready

• Korean phone number: The core of mobile verification.
• Foreigner registration number: Clears checks that a passport number cannot.
• Passport

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

1. 1

   See which kind of verification the service asks for

   Mobile verification, i-PIN and joint certificates all work differently. Just pick the method that works for foreigners and go with it.

2. 2

   Try mobile phone verification first

   If you have a Korean number, this is the most common path. Your name, date of birth and number have to match what the carrier has on file. A number from a tourist SIM usually will not get you through, because LG U+ says its tourist SIM does not support identity verification for banking or government services. A plan in your own name is what makes this path work.

3. 3

   If you are blocked, look for the alternative route

   Where:

   Customer service, a branch or counter

   Passport verification, a counter visit or a customer service check are exceptions many services keep. If it fails online, ask about offline.

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.

• 

  "스마트폰 본인인증, 이거 꼭 먼저 설치하세요" 국민 필수 앱이라는 패스앱 사용 방법 - Pass 1부(feat.알뜰폰)

  Channel: 막내딸 클라쓰, Korean, with auto-generated English subtitles

  Sets up the PASS app from installation onward, which is the step most Korean sites assume you have already done before they will let you through.

  Open on YouTube

• 

  패스앱으로 본인인증하기. 인증서란? Pass 처음으로 설치하고 사용법까지. 인증서 소개 및 종류. 폰에서/ 컴퓨터에서 본인인증하기.

  Channel: 엄마, 내가 알려줄게, Korean, no English subtitles. The value is the screen

  Does the same check twice, once on a phone and once on a computer, which is worth seeing because the two flows diverge and only one of them is usually explained.

  Open on YouTube

The Korean words

본인인증bonin-injeung, identity verification

The identity check that many Korean services require.

외국인등록번호oegugin-deungnok-beonho, foreigner registration number

The number on your Alien Registration Card. It stands in for a resident number.

휴대폰 인증hyudaepon injeung, mobile phone verification

The most common method, clearing a check with a text to your Korean number.

공동인증서gongdong-injeungseo, joint certificate

A digital certificate used at banks and government offices. Formerly the public certificate.

Easy to miss

• ·Having a Korean number is not enough. A tourist SIM number can pass a restaurant or taxi app's text check and still fail at a bank.
• ·The name on file with your carrier (in English or Korean) can differ from what a service expects, and that blocks you.
• ·Sign up on a passport number can go through, then you are blocked again at a payment or verification step.

You can skip this if

• For a service you use briefly while travelling, guest checkout or paying in person can sometimes get around it.

Where this comes from

• Korea SIM FAQ, LG U+ (what identity verification a tourist SIM supports)
• HiKorea, Korea Immigration Service