Getting your Korean phone number and SIM card: what to say at the store
After your bank account, the phone store is next. Here is exactly what to hand over, what to say in English, and what the staff will ask you, so a 15-minute errand doesn't turn into an hour of guessing.
Park English2026-10-013 min read
You will probably do this in your first week, right after you open a Korean bank account. The order matters: a bank account first, because most phone plans want to auto-pay from one, and a phone number second, because almost everything else (KakaoTalk, Baemin, Coupang, even your school's building intercom app) wants a Korean number to verify you.
Here is the short version of how the visit goes, and what to say at each step.
1. Walk in and say what you need. Korean phone shop staff deal with foreign customers constantly in university neighborhoods and anywhere near a hagwon cluster, so this sentence alone usually gets you moving: "Hi, I'd like a new phone plan. I have an ARC." Say "ARC" (Alien Registration Card), not "visa". Staff think in terms of ARC status, not visa category, because that's what determines whether you can sign a postpaid contract at all.
2. Hand over three things before they ask. Put these on the counter together so you don't do three separate trips to your bag:
| What to hand over | Why they need it |
|---|---|
| Your ARC | Proves you can hold a postpaid line (passport-only plans are for short stays) |
| Your passport | Backup ID, sometimes photocopied |
| Your phone, unlocked | So they can check the IMEI and SIM size |
3. Answer the plan question in a short sentence. They will ask something like "데이터 많이 쓰세요?" (do you use a lot of data?) through a translation app or broken English. You can answer in plain English: "Medium data is fine, I mostly use maps and KakaoTalk" or "I need a lot of data, I stream video." That one sentence is usually enough for them to point at two or three plans on a laminated sheet.
4. Ask the two questions that actually matter. Plan prices and contract lengths move around between carriers and between SKT, KT, and LG U+ storefronts versus their budget MVNO sub-brands, so don't memorize a number in advance. Instead, ask:
- "Is this a 12-month contract, or month to month?"
- "Is there an early termination fee if I leave Korea before this ends?"
Both answers should come back clearly, and if they don't, that's your cue to ask for the English contract summary sheet, which most urban branches keep behind the counter.
5. Confirm the payment method out loud. Postpaid plans auto-charge a Korean bank account or an international card. Say: "Can I pay with this bank account?" and show your bank app or card. If they ask for a deposit, ask directly: "Is this deposit refundable, and when?"
6. Get the number itself before you leave. Ask for it twice: "Can you write down my new phone number?" and take a photo of the receipt that shows your plan name, start date, and the number. You will need to type that plan name into your settings when KakaoTalk or your bank app asks "which carrier" during verification.
One thing that varies branch to branch and genuinely can't be predicted from a website: how much English the specific staff member speaks that day. University-area branches (Hongdae, Sinchon, near any big university) tend to have more English speakers. A branch in a smaller town might not, and that's where having these phrases ready, rather than winging it, saves the whole visit.
Once you have the SIM working, the next errand is usually KakaoTalk and mobile ID verification, both of which need that new number.