Korean phone number verification: a tourist's guide
A lot of Korean apps assume you have a Korean phone number. Here's how visitors get around it.
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Many Korean apps ask for a Korean number
Lots of Korean sites and apps want to verify a Korean (+82) phone number before you can sign up or book. Travelers have run into this with restaurant apps, café kiosks and bus booking. The good news: map apps work without logging in.
- Where you can, pick services that let you sign up with Google, Apple or email. This checklist points out the ones we've confirmed.
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LG U+ CHECK iN SEOUL: eSIM with a Korean number
This eSIM comes with a Korean 010 number and unlimited 5G/LTE data. Plans with calls and texts can get SMS codes for restaurant and taxi apps, but not bank or government identity checks. Data-only plans can't get SMS codes.
- If you need SMS codes, pick a plan with calls and texts.
- Bring your passport: plans with calls are activated at an airport counter.
- eSIM: 6,500 won (1 day), 12,000 (2), 18,000 (3), 23,000 (4), 27,500 (5 days).
- Call time add-on: 5,500 won for 20 min, up to 22,000 won for 80 min.
- Plans with calls: passport check at a counter at Incheon T1/T2, Gimpo or Gimhae airport. Up to 3 per passport.
- Includes a prepaid payment and transit card: 5,000 won to issue, app top-ups by Mastercard, JCB or Visa with a 2–3% fee, 1,000 won per cash withdrawal.
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KT eSIM: data-only or with a Korean number
KT sells a data-only eSIM (no phone number) and a data + calls eSIM with a Korean 010 number. KT's manual says it can't be used for Korean identity checks.
- Data only: 6,500 won (1 day) up to 143,000 won (90 days). Examples: 27,500 (5 days), 38,500 (10 days).
- Data + calls: 23,500 won (3 days), 33,000 (5), 40,500 (7), 44,000 (10), 77,000 (30 days). Includes 16,500 won of call credit (about 60 min).
- After 11GB a day, speed drops to 5Mbps.
- To make calls, your identity and arrival are checked first, and you top up at least 5,500 won. One line with calls per passport, up to 90 days.
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SK Telecom eSIM with calls and texts
SK Telecom also sells an eSIM with data, calls and texts, on its website and at the airport. After passport verification you can receive calls and texts; outgoing calls need a separate top-up. We haven't confirmed its prices or whether it works for identity checks.
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Prepaid SIM with a Korean number (passport)
You can get a prepaid SIM with a Korean 010 number using your passport. LG U+ sells one with unlimited data: you upload your passport, and data + calls plans are picked up at Incheon (T1, T2), Gimpo or Gimhae airport. KT prepaid lines can also be opened with a regular passport and last 90 days from activation.
- Bring your passport: you need it to activate.
- LG U+ prices shown: 6,500 won (1 day), 12,000 (2), 18,000 (3), 23,000 (4), 27,500 (5 days). The page doesn't say whether data + calls costs more.
- LG U+: calls in Korea 264 won/min, texts 55 won, incoming free. Up to 3 bookings per passport.
- LG U+ SMS codes work for restaurant and taxi apps, but not for bank or government identity checks.
- KT: one prepaid line per person, topped up at KT stores or official dealers. Prices not confirmed.
- A phone dealer says budget-carrier SIMs (5,000–8,800 won at convenience stores) can be self-activated with your passport and a phone camera (ID photo and face check), for about 90 days. Plan prices not confirmed.
- A travel blog says passport activation is checked against your entry record, so you can only finish it after you land.
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Catchtable Global: book without a Korean number
Catchtable Global lets you sign up with Google, LINE, Apple or email, no Korean number needed. You can pay booking deposits with a card issued outside Korea and join waitlists remotely. It only has restaurants that have signed up, though. One traveler couldn't find about half the places they wanted.
- Install Catchtable Global and sign up with Google, LINE, Apple or email.
- Search for your must-try restaurants before you fly, so you know which ones you can book there.
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Get k.ride for taxis
k.ride is a taxi app from Kakao Mobility for visitors. You sign up with Google, Apple or email, no Korean number needed. It lets you search for places and chat in 100 languages, and you can book a taxi ahead of time, including airport pickups at Incheon (T1 and T2), Gimpo and Jeju. It doesn't offer regular taxis. The cheapest class is Standard (Kakao T Blue).
- Install k.ride and sign up before you fly.
- Add your payment method at home, not at the taxi stand.
- Classes: Standard (Kakao T Blue), Deluxe (deluxe 'mobeom' taxi), Comfort (Venti, larger car) and Luxury (Black).
- Standard and Deluxe: meter fare plus a 10% service fee. Deluxe can add a surge charge of 0–5,000 won; for Standard it depends on the taxi company. The fee can change with demand, traffic and area.
- Cancelling more than 1 minute after a car is assigned, or not boarding after it arrives: 2,000 won (Deluxe), 4,000 won (Venti), 5,000 won (Black), plus 10%. For Blue it depends on the taxi company.
- At launch in 2024, Kakao Mobility said it left out regular taxis to keep the service stable and might add more car types later (news report).
- A third-party guide reports that Venti and Black don't show up yet in some areas. For comparison, it lists Seoul's regular taxi base fare as 4,800 won (1.6 km) and deluxe taxis as 7,000 won (3 km).
Official links