Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
preclude anyone who wasn't local from getting their hands on a handset. And few South
Korean government agencies or retailers seem to keep the foreign population in mind when
designing the authentication and payment systems for their websites, hampering access to
the country's otherwise admirable e-commerce sector.
Phone services are widely available and generally excellent, though as in other countries
the public's increasing reliance on mobile phones has led to the scaling back of public
fixed-line phone services in some areas. Many homes, shops, and restaurants are also doing
away with landlines altogether, and mobile phones now outnumber standard phones nation-
wide by around three to one. Both fixed-line and mobile phone charges are usually billed
monthly and can be deducted directly from a bank account or paid via the Internet or at
banks, branches of service providers, or convenience stores.
Korea Telecom (KT) is the country's dominant fixed-line provider, with SK Broadband a
very distant second. The phone company residents end up with can come down to the area
