The page that costs us the sale · we earn nothing on any of these
The carriers' own tourist eSIMs: KT, SK Telecom, LG U+
Korea is the country where the network operators sell eSIMs directly to visitors, with a real Korean number and no daily cap. For two kinds of trip they beat everything we can link, and this page says which.
Korea Telecom, SK Telecom and LG U+ sell eSIMs to tourists themselves which almost no country does
In most countries a "local eSIM" means a reseller and a physical counter. In Korea the three carriers run English-language storefronts, email you a QR code, and the profile is on your phone before you leave home. That changes the comparison on this site more than anywhere else we cover.
Two things the carrier products have that no travel eSIM on this site has: data with no daily cap at all, and a Korean 010 number that receives SMS codes from Korean apps. Two things they cost you that a travel eSIM does not: a passport step after you land, and for the voice versions a visit to an airport counter or an online registration window. This page prices all of it.
One line of disclosure before the tables. We earn a commission on Airalo, Saily, GigSky and Yesim. We earn nothing on LG U+, KT or SK Telecom, and none of them are linked here. If the carrier product is the better answer for your trip, this page says so and we make nothing.
The three carrier tourist eSIMs, priced won and dollars, checked September 2026
| Carrier product | Price | Data | Number | The passport step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG U+ tourist eSIM lguplus.com/korea-sim | 1 day ₩6,500 (≈$4.70) 3 days ₩18,000 (≈$13) 5 days ₩27,500 (≈$20) longer plans to 90 days exist; prices not captured | "No Speed Cap, Truly Unlimited", 5G and LTE | 010 number included, visible after arrival. Voice is an add-on: 0 to 80 minutes for ₩0 to ₩22,000, then ₩264 a minute and ₩55 a text | Data-only version: QR by email, no counter. Data + voice version: show your passport at the airport counter (Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae). Up to three per passport. Activate within 60 days; no reissue once installed |
| SK Telecom "eSIM Red" via krsim.net, an SKT partner | 1 day $3.90 (4G) / $5.20 (5G) 7 days $20.70 / $23.20 30 days $42.40 / $45.00 up to 90 days ($95.40 on 5G) | Unlimited, no fair-use policy, up to 200 Mbps on 5G or 100 Mbps on 4G | 010 number on plans of two days or more, calls and texts billed separately, passes Korean-app SMS verification. The 1-day plan is data-only | Passport registration required after landing, online at krsim's registration page between 08:00 and 22:00 Korean time, or at an SKT airport booth |
| KT tourist eSIM roaming.kt.com | KT's own eSIM prices are not readable on its site a reseller lists the KT SIM at 3 days ₩18,000, 5 days ₩24,700, 10 days ₩34,600, 30 days ₩64,300 | Reseller wording: unlimited, 3GB a day at full speed then 5 Mbps. Treat as unverified until KT prints it | All KT tourist numbers are 010. Without topping up call credit (minimum ₩5,500) an older report says you get a receive-only 012 number instead | Passport required. Sold at airport roaming centers and online; install the QR within 90 days; Korean-issued cards not accepted online |
Won converted at roughly ₩1,380 to the dollar and rounded; the rate moves. LG U+ figures from its English tourist page on September 7, 2026; SKT figures from krsim's 2026 product page in USD; KT's own eSIM page is script-rendered and its won prices could not be read, so the KT column relies on a 2026 reseller listing and says so. Airport counters sell the same LG U+ and KT products at a markup: one traveler reported ₩45,000 at a booth against ₩25,000 online for the same seven-day plan.
Carrier eSIM against travel eSIM, trip by trip the arithmetic
| Trip | Best travel eSIM we link | Best carrier eSIM | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days, maps and messaging, ≈2GB | Airalo 3GB / 7d $9.00 or GigSky 3GB / 15d $8.49 | LG U+ 5 days ₩27,500 (≈$20) | Travel eSIM, by about $11, and no passport step. |
| 7 days, social and photos, ≈5GB | Airalo 5GB / 7d $10.00 | SKT via krsim 7 days $20.70 | Travel eSIM, by $10.70. |
| 7 days, heavy use, streaming and hotspot | GigSky 3.5GB/day $27.99 or Airalo unlimited 3GB/day $29.00 | SKT via krsim 7 days $20.70, uncapped, with a 010 number | Carrier, by $7 to $8, with more data and a number. We earn nothing. |
| 14 days, social, ≈10GB | GigSky 10GB / 30d $17.79 or Airalo 10GB / 15d $18.50 on SK Telecom | LG U+ 14 days, not priced on the page we could read; SKT 30-day plan $42.40 | Travel eSIM, by roughly $20 or more. |
| 14 days, heavy, unlimited wanted | Saily 15-day unlimited $48.99, 5GB/day | SKT via krsim 30 days $42.40, uncapped | Carrier: cheaper for a longer window with no cap. |
| 30 days, remote work | Airalo 50GB / 30d $49.00, no daily cap Saily unlimited 30d $71.99, 5GB/day | SKT via krsim 30 days $42.40 (4G) / $45.00 (5G) | Carrier unless 50GB is genuinely enough, in which case Airalo is close and needs no registration. |
| Any trip where you need a 010 number | none; every travel eSIM here is data-only | LG U+ from ₩6,500 (≈$4.70) a day, or SKT from $20.70 for a week | Carrier, by definition. Check first whether you still need one. |
The pattern is clean. Below about 10GB and without a phone number, the travel eSIMs win on price and on convenience. Above that, or the moment you need a number, the carriers win and win clearly, because their unlimited is real and their number is Korean. Prices checked September 7, 2026.
For the common trip, a week or two of maps, photos and messaging, Airalo's 5GB at $10.00 or 10GB at $19.00 on SK Telecom is cheaper than any carrier product and skips the passport step entirely. For heavy use, go back up one table and buy from the carrier.
See Airalo Korea plans Compare every unlimited capWhat the passport step actually involves in 2026 and why it got stricter
Korea has required identity registration for prepaid lines for years. What changed in the last twelve months is the enforcement, after a National Assembly audit in October 2025 found KT opening lines for foreigners on passport copies before the person had even arrived, and after foreign-name burner phones rose from a few hundred in 2019 to more than 71,000 in 2024.
The rules as of September 7, 2026:
A visitor staying 90 days or less can open a prepaid line on a passport alone. Postpaid needs a residence card, which a tourist does not have.
Since December 2025 a passport can hold one prepaid line, down from two. LG U+ and krsim both say up to three of their data products per passport; how that squares with the one-line rule is not something either of them explains, and we have not been able to verify it.
Face authentication at activation was piloted in December 2025, became mandatory for Korean IDs in March 2026, and is being rolled out across every carrier and reseller channel in phases from July 2026. Foreign documents, meaning a residence card photo check or a passport chip read matched against immigration records, are scheduled for the second half of 2026. As of this check we could not confirm it live for tourists. Expect it to arrive during the life of this page.
In practice: LG U+'s data-only eSIM arrives by email with no ID step; its data-plus-voice eSIM needs your passport shown at an airport counter before the number works. SK Telecom's krsim eSIM works for data on landing and needs the passport registered online, between 08:00 and 22:00 Korean time, or at an SKT booth, before the number is live. KT wants the passport at purchase.
A travel eSIM is a roaming service on a foreign operator's contract. None of this applies to it, which is the honest version of its main selling point.
Where to buy a carrier eSIM, and the one airport where you cannot Incheon, Gimhae, Jeju
| Where | SK Telecom | KT | LG U+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online, before you fly | krsim.net, QR by email | roaming.kt.com, QR by email, install within 90 days | lguplus.com/korea-sim, QR by email (data-only); voice version needs the counter |
| Incheon Terminal 1, arrivals 1F | Hall F near Exit 13, 24 hours; Hall A near Exit 2, 06:00 to 22:00 | Hall F, 24 hours; Hall A, 06:00 to 22:00 | Hall F, 24 hours; Hall A, 06:00 to 22:00 (reseller report) |
| Incheon Terminal 2, arrivals 1F | Between Gates 6 and 7, 24 hours (one 2026 source says it moved near Gate 3; unresolved) | Near Gate A, 24 hours | Near Exit 4, 24 hours; Exit 7, 06:00 to 22:00 (reseller report) |
| Gimhae (Busan), international 1F | Between Gates 2 and 3, 06:00 to 22:00 | Between Exits 2 and 3, 06:00 to 22:00 | Gate 2, 06:00 to 22:00 (reseller report) |
| Gimpo | not confirmed | 06:30 to 23:00 | same hours (reseller report) |
| Jeju | No carrier counters at all since the end of June 2026. SK Telecom closed its Jeju roaming center; KT closed in 2018. Arrive with the eSIM installed. | ||
Counter locations and hours from SK Telecom's and KT's own roaming-center pages on September 7, 2026, with LG U+ and Gimhae details from 2026 reseller listings marked as such. Jeju closure from Korean press reporting in May 2026. Hours change; the 24-hour Hall F counters at Incheon are the ones to rely on for a late arrival.
Who should buy the carrier eSIM, and who should not the short version
Buy the carrier eSIM if
- You need a Korean 010 number: Coupang, some in-store waitlist kiosks, a landlord, a Korean bank appointment. Check the list first; it is shorter than it was.
- You will use more than about 3GB a day, every day. Every travel-eSIM unlimited here is a daily cap and the carriers' are not.
- You are staying a month or more and working. SK Telecom via krsim is $42.40 for 30 uncapped days against $49 for Airalo's 50GB or $71.99 for Saily's capped unlimited.
- You are taking the East Sea ferries to Ulleungdo, where KT's maritime coverage is the only published sea coverage in Korea and no brand we link publishes a KT agreement.
Buy a travel eSIM instead if
- Your trip is under two weeks and under 10GB, which is most first trips. Airalo at $10 to $19 or GigSky at $8.49 to $17.79 is cheaper and needs no passport step.
- You do not want to register anything after a fourteen-hour flight, or you land at 01:00 and want the phone working on the AREX platform.
- You want the plan on your phone before you leave with no dependence on a counter's hours or a registration window in Korean time.
- You are flying straight to Jeju, where the counters are gone, and you have not bought online in advance.
Carrier eSIM questions short answers
Does Korea Telecom (KT) sell an eSIM to tourists?
Yes. KT sells prepaid tourist eSIMs for stays of up to 90 days through roaming.kt.com and at its airport roaming centers at Incheon, Gimhae and Gimpo, all with 010 numbers and a passport check. KT's own eSIM price list would not render for us; a 2026 reseller lists the KT SIM at ₩18,000 for three days to ₩64,300 for thirty, with a 3GB-a-day cap the reseller describes and KT does not print. Get the number from KT's checkout.
Is the SK Telecom eSIM for tourists really unlimited?
Per krsim, SK Telecom's official partner, yes: no fair-use policy, speeds up to 200 Mbps on 5G or 100 Mbps on 4G, $20.70 for seven days on 4G or $23.20 on 5G, checked September 7, 2026. The condition is a passport registration after landing, online between 08:00 and 22:00 Korean time or at an SKT airport booth, before the 010 number goes live. Data works on landing.
How much is the LG U+ tourist eSIM?
₩6,500 (about $4.70) for one day, ₩18,000 (about $13) for three, ₩27,500 (about $20) for five, checked on LG U+'s English page on September 7, 2026. Plans run to 90 days but the longer prices were not on the page we could read. Data is described as truly unlimited with no speed cap, a 010 number is included, and voice minutes are an add-on. The data-only eSIM arrives by email; the voice version needs your passport shown at an airport counter.
Can I buy a Korean eSIM at Jeju airport?
Not since the end of June 2026. SK Telecom closed its Jeju roaming center then and KT had already closed its Jeju counter in 2018, so there are no carrier counters at Jeju airport. Buy online before you fly, buy at Incheon or Gimhae on the way through, or install a travel eSIM at home.
Do I need my passport for a Korean eSIM?
For any carrier eSIM with a 010 number, yes: LG U+ checks it at the airport counter for the voice version, SK Telecom's partner registers it online after you land, KT checks it at purchase. Since December 2025 one prepaid line per passport is the rule, and face authentication at activation is being phased in from July 2026, with foreign documents scheduled for the second half of the year. A data-only travel eSIM needs no ID at all.
Why does this site recommend products it earns nothing on?
Because for heavy use and for a Korean number the carriers are the right answer, and a comparison that hides the right answer to protect a commission is an advertisement. We earn on Airalo, Saily, GigSky and Yesim, we say so on every page, and we publish the rates. The carriers get a page because they earned one.
Under 10GB and no number needed? Then a travel eSIM is cheaper
Airalo's 5GB for $10.00 or 10GB for $19.00 on SK Telecom costs half what the carriers charge for a short trip and skips the passport step entirely. Above 3GB a day, or if you need a 010 number, go back up this page and buy from the carrier. We earn nothing when you do, and the advice stands.
See Airalo Korea plansSources & freshness: LG U+ tourist eSIM prices and terms from lguplus.com/korea-sim/eng on September 7, 2026. SK Telecom eSIM Red prices and terms from krsim.net, SKT's official partner, on the same date. KT terms from roaming.kt.com; KT prices from a 2026 reseller listing, marked as such throughout. Counter locations from SKT's and KT's roaming-center pages. Registration rules from Korean government policy briefings of 19 and 24 December 2025 and 30 June 2026, and Korea Herald reporting of the October 2025 National Assembly audit. Jeju closure from Korean press of May 2026. Won converted at about ₩1,380 per dollar. We earn nothing on LG U+, KT or SK Telecom and none of them is linked on this page. How we test.