First, have you given thought to Yahoo messenger? or Skype? or Lingo? or WhatsApp?
There are many ways to make this cheaper for you so you don't have massive monthly phone bills. If you're like me and you are limited for time and you want to call on your mobile (cellphone) while you're on the bus or subway, I STRONGLY recommend you get a phone card.
A phone card will cost you about 20,000 Won and you'll get close to 2000 minutes... a pretty good deal. You can get phone cards are most shops. Ask around, find a favorite, SAVE your money.
The actual process of dialing out is simple. If you are calling from Korea to your home country, you will need to first dial a long distance carrier (Korea Telecom is 001, Dacom is 002), then the country code and then the area code (minus the initial zero if there is one and then the number).
If you are calling a number in Korea while you are in Korea please note that the 0 prefix must be dialed. If a cell number is 011 254-6929 then you must dial 011 254...
Again, phone cards are sold all over Korea, particularly in bus stations, subway stations and 24 hour convenience stores. They are normally sold in denominations of W3000, W5000 and W10000, but are always discounted to W2900, W4800 and W9500 respectively. These are a cheaper option for calling home than dialing direct, plus you can easily keep track of how much you spend.
Note that these payphone cards are not necessarily the cheapest or the best rates. Find the dial in phone cards that have access numbers you have to call into and then once in you dial the number through them. These will offer you the best rates.
A word of caution, however- the payphone cards are often of notoriously poor quality, so it is a good idea to buy cards in the lowest denomination that you are going to use.
If the charge in your card does disappear, try flexing the card gently without cracking the magnetic strip in the back. With the advent of the internet- the cheapest option for talking with your friends back home is to get a Net Messenger account (it’s free) and a microphone for your computer. If your friends and family have the same set up you can talk your head off for free!
There are three types of pay phones in Korea. Old payphones only accept coins, and you will often find that the phone is off the hook. Don’t hang up! There is still credit on the phone, and the last person who used it left it off the hook as a courtesy for the next person to use it. When you deposit a 50 Won or 100 Won coin you cannot get change back, so if you only have a brief conversation the next person can use the left over credit to make another phone call- just push the green button. These types of phones can only be used to make local calls.
Silver and red payphones accept both coins and credit cards, while the other kind only accepts cards. These two types of phones have different card systems and are not integrated. Calls are discounted about 30% on Saturdays, holidays and from 21:00 to 08:00 on weekdays. You can make both local and international calls using card pay phones.
Check out our Emergency Phone Numbers page for emergency contact information.
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