Jeju – known for its waterfalls, museums & nature.
Although my first interaction with Jeju was Innisfree (the cosmetics brand) 🤣.
Jeju is one of the most popular travel destinations in South Korea.
Mostly because it has a different and more liberal visa policy than mainland South Korea.
But also due to it being a beautiful island.
So beautiful and popular that between 15-20 domestic flights arrive at Jeju International Airport every hour… crazy!
Writing a list of all the cool things to do in Jeju would require another blog post (or a dedicated Jeju blog).
I will save you from that because you want to know what SIM card and eSIM options are available at the airport.
You can get an SK Telecom SIM card for between 6600 KRW (5.05 USD) and 71 500 KRW (54.65 USD) at Jeju International Airport (CJU).
That is quite a spread – what gives?
The validity of these SIM cards ranges from one day to 30 days.
And they all give you unlimited data, which adds up (but these plans are still reasonably priced).
But I will also give you some tips to save up to 30% on your South Korean SIM card or eSIM bought at Jeju International Airport 😎.
Anyway, let's review all your options and see if getting a SIM card at Jeju International Airport is even worth it.
Original publication: 17th of June 2023. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Mobile Operators in South Korea
Before I tell you about the SIM card and eSIM options you have at Jeju International Airport, you first need to know about all the mobile operators in South Korea.
South Korea has three mobile operators offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:
- SK Telecom (T World)
- KT South Korea (formerly Korea Telecom & Olleh)
- LG U+
South Korea also has various Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), including EG SIM.
However, most are not interested in dealing with prepaid customers or tourists.
Or they can be a challenge to find.
Alright, back to what Jeju International Airport has to offer to us.
Where to Buy a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Jeju International Airport?
SK Telecom is the only mobile operator selling SIM cards (and eSIMs) at Jeju International Airport.
Honestly… I am surprised only SK Telecom bothers to sell SIM cards at this airport.
Because Jeju International Airport is the second-largest airport in South Korea (behind Seoul-Incheon International Airport and ahead of Seoul-Gimpo- and Busan-Gimhae International Airports).
Unlike some South Korean airports (like Busan-Gimhae International Airport), the arrival halls of the domestic and international terminals at Jeju International Airport are connected.
This means the walk between the two airports is covered, or you do not have to take a bus or something to transfer.
If you are reading this, you will most likely be an international arriver, so I will write this guide from that angle.
But those arriving from another South Korean international airport and taking a domestic flight to Jeju International Airport (Seoul-Gimpo or Busan-Gimhae, probably) can still use this guide due to the interconnected arrivals hall at the airport.
You cannot get SIM cards or eSIMs at the domestic terminal (not even from convenience stores like 7-Eleven, CU & Olive Young).
At least… not when I was there (hopefully, more places will sell SIM cards when you are at the airport… because the opening hours with SK Telecom are pathetic, as you will learn in a bit).
So let's see what SK Telecom offers us at the airport.
What SIM Cards & Plans does SK Telecom Sell at Jeju International Airport (+Prices)?
SK Telecom sells its tourist SIM cards at Jeju International Airport, costing between 6600 KRW and 71 500 KRW.
eSIMs are available for the same prices as SIM cards, but I will keep writing “SIM cards” instead of “SIM cards and eSIMs” throughout this section, but whatever I write applies to both.
I will list all the prices in KRW (KRW).
To convert KRW to your currency (let's say JPY – Japanese Yen) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.
SK Telecom, also known as T World, is the largest mobile operator in South Korea.
And it is also the best-performing mobile operator in the country.
Unless… you get one of its tourist SIM cards or eSIMs, like the ones sold at Jeju International Airport.
Why is that? It is because they throttle your speed @ 10 Mbps at all times.
So you do not even have a high-speed data allowance – you will always be on 10 Mbps.
But… you do get unlimited data between 1 and 30 days with no speed drop besides the 10 Mbps limit.
Anyway, where can you even find the SK Telecom booth?
From the international arrival gate, you turn right (behind the escalators and elevators in front of you).
Or you can first walk towards the exit (gate 5), then turn right.
Before the pandemic, there used to be another booth in the departure hall (third floor). But this one vanished when I was at the airport in May 2023.
And if you come from the domestic arrivals hall, simply walk toward gate 5, which can take up to three to five minutes, depending on how fast you are (and how many people are blocking your way).
Here, you will find the SK Telecom booth tucked into the corner (which used to be the KT South Korea booth back in 2017).
I specifically took a layover from Busan to Jeju instead of flying to Seoul directly to find out what SIM card and eSIM options there are at the airport (as I assumed things had changed since 2017).
I landed around 15:30 at the domestic terminal, waited for my luggage & walked straight to the SK Telecom booth.
When I arrived, the SK Telecom staff members were cleaning things up…!?
Apparently, the booth has limited opening hours from 7:00 until 16:00.
And you know I arrived at 16:02 🥲.
At the time of writing, three international flights land past 16:00 (one flight from Taipei- and two from Shanghai-Pudong airports).
Meaning that if you are one of these unlucky arrivals, you cannot buy a(n SK Telecom) SIM card at the airport.
The T'way Air flight from Osaka-Kansai International Airport (TW246) lands around 15:00.
Unless your flight is significantly delayed, you are lucky and can still buy a SIM card here.
Fortunately, I had been to Gimpo-Seoul International Airport and Busan-Gimhae International Airport before heading to Jeju International Airport, so I knew what SK Telecom has to offer at airports.
Mostly because its tourist SIM card and eSIM offering are standardized throughout the country.
The SK Telecom booth has the following six starter packs you can choose from:
| Price | Data 1 | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| 6600 KRW | Unlimited | 1 day |
| 18 000 KRW | Unlimited | 3 days |
| 27 500 KRW | Unlimited | 5 days |
| 38 500 KRW | Unlimited | 10 days |
| 60 500 KRW | Unlimited | 20 days |
| 71 500 KRW | Unlimited | 30 days |
1 @ 10 Mbps | 60-day variant is coming soon, according to SK Telecom
As you can see in the picture above, these plans are also available as eSIMs for the same prices as regular SIM cards.
Unlike the SIM cards and eSIMs from KT South Korea and LG U+, you cannot make calls or send SMS with SK Telecom's plans (which are add-ons for the other two mobile operators).
But you do get a South Korean phone number (+82) for incoming calls and SMS (but it cannot be used for self-authorization/verification (age/identity check), and the 1-day plan does not include a phone number either).
I recommend pre-ordering your SK Telecom SIM card online or outright buying the eSIM variant online.
You may have seen the Korea SIM website (krsim.net).
This is a legitimate website – it is a collaborative project between SK Telecom, KT South Korea & LG U+.
When you pre-order your SIM card (Korea Gold SIM card and Korea Red eSIM are by SK Telecom), you can get discounts of up to 30% compared to buying the SIM card or eSIM at the airport.
For example, the 20-day plan costs 60 500 KRW, about 45.25 USD at the time of writing.
If you pre-order (SIM card) or buy (eSIM) on the Krsim.net website, you will pay 42.70 USD instead.
Based on the screenshot above, you may think these are promotional prices and will change in the future.
This promotion has been going on since at least 2019… so it is a permanent promotion 🤣.
(But I did notice the prices have gone down since August 2022 (yes, I keep track of them 🤓). See the old prices below).
In my case, I bought the Korea Red eSIM through the website.
I received it instantly by email a few weeks before arrival and installed it when I arrived in Seoul (Gimpo).
As expected, it worked immediately.
The only thing I was disappointed about is that the description of the Korea Red eSIM does not mention that your speeds are throttled (unlike at the airport or in the Korea SIM Card Gold description).
Only you will not experience a speed drop.
This was true at the time of purchase (April 2023) and the time of writing (June 2023). It may be mentioned now… as it should be).
So I bought the eSIM thinking I would get full speeds on the SK Telecom network, only to be disappointed 😒.
If your phone supports eSIM and you do not mind throttled speeds (10 Mbps), get the Korea Red eSIM from the krsim.net website – you will save time at the airport.
If your phone does not support eSIM, but the same conditions apply, pre-order the Korea Gold SIM card so that you can save some $$$.
Like most places in East Asia, you have to hand over your passport as part of South Korea's SIM card registration laws.
This whole process will take up to a minute (when you are being served – the queue before speaking to the salesperson can take a while).
If you do not want to deal with South Korea's SIM card registration requirements but still want to be connected here, consider a travel eSIM that can be used in the country.
Why does it matter? Optus from Australia had a large-scale hack where the identities of more than 10 million people were stolen in October 2022, including mine 🤯.
Luckily for me, only basic (and outdated) info was leaked.
In my boyfriend's case, his passport document number was also stolen… so that was nice 🫠.
And hacks like this happen all the time – apparently. 1.3 billion SIM card registration-related data was stolen in Indonesia around the same time 😒.
Anyway, I write about the best travel eSIMs for South Korea in my Best South Korea eSIM buying guide.
I even tried many of them extensively for my South Korean eSIM review series.
Should You Get a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Jeju International Airport?
I recommend getting a SIM card at Jeju International Airport because tourist SIM cards (and eSIMs) with unlimited data are available at reasonable prices from SK Telecom.
SK Telecom has a booth selling SIM cards in the furthest corner of the international terminal.
Back in the day, it had a stall in the departures hall (third floor) of the same terminal.
But this one vanished due to COVID-19 and was absent in May 2023.
Because there are often only two staff members attending the SK Telecom stall, you may have to be patient if many other passengers from your flight also want to buy a SIM card (or eSIM) here.
Unfortunately, SK Telecom is the only mobile operator selling SIM cards at Jeju International Airport (which is odd because it is the second-largest airport in South Korea).
If you want to buy an SK Telecom SIM card, which comes with unlimited data (@ max. 10 Mbps), I recommend pre-ordering it on the Krsim.net website.
A collaborative project by SK Telecom, KT South Korea & LG U+ – the three South Korean mobile operators.
You order the Korea Gold SIM card there, which is the one by SK Telecom.
If you pre-order your SK Telecom/Korea Gold SIM Card, you can save up to 30% compared to buying it outright from the SK Telecom booth.
This has been the case since at least 2019, so it is not just a promotion (although the discounts do change from time to time. The prices were lower in June 2023 than in October 2022, as the image below shows).
There is also a review from someone saying they pre-ordered the Korea Gold SIM card while in the queue to save some $$$, which you can do too!
If your phone supports eSIM, skip the queue and buy the Korea Red eSIM – also by SK Telecom.
It offers the same perks as the Korea Gold eSIM… but then as an eSIM.
This way, you can have your eSIM even before flying to Jeju (and you can install and set it up in the arrivals hall of the airport as soon as you connect to the WiFi network).
Just as pre-ordering the Korea Gold SIM card on the Krsim.net website gets you discounted rates, the same applies to buying your Korea Red eSIM there.
But remember, both the Korea Gold SIM card and Korea Red eSIM are speed-restricted @ 10 Mbps.
You can buy the Korea Sky eSIM by LG U+ if you have an iPhone.
LG U+ does not sell SIM cards or eSIMs at Jeju International Airport, but you can get the Korea Sky eSIM on the Krsim.net website.
The site claims the eSIM is only available for iPhone users. Although the same eSIM can be purchased from Airalo for a slight markup (10-day and 30-day variants only). The ones bought from Airalo (my review) can also be used on Android phones (except for Google Pixel devices), so I wonder whether the Korea Sky eSIM is truly only for iPhones. You can try and find out at your own risk 🗿.
While Krsim.net and LG U+ claim you get unlimited data, you get 3 GB of high-speed data per day before your speeds are throttled @ 5 Mbps for the rest of the day.
So yes, you do get “unlimited” data, but it is not as unlimited as SK Telecom's offering.
But unlike SK Telecom, you get full speeds with LG U+ until you hit your daily high-speed allowance.
I tested the LG U+ eSIM (from Airalo on my Samsung Galaxy S22), and it worked well – speeds were alright (average of 37 Mbps).
But if you want to use an eSIM and have 5G NR access on the SK Telecom access, you want to get Alosim's South Korean eSIM.
While you do not get unlimited data, you get (somewhat) unrestricted 5G NR access (average of 165 Mbps).
I say somewhat because the Alosim eSIM roams on the SK Telecom network (through StarHub from Singapore), meaning it is slower than if it was directly powered by SK Telecom.
None of the South Korean mobile operators give you 5G NR access yet, making Alosim unique (for now).
Anyway, mobile data in South Korea is high by East Asian standards.
But you can save some money by pre-ordering your SIM card online or buying an eSIM from Krsim.net – saving you up to 30%.
Just be aware that SIM cards and eSIMs offered by SK Telecom are speed restricted @ 10 Mbps, but it still works alright.
If you are okay with this, it is worth getting a SIM card at Jeju International Airport.
If you want more choices, you have to go to Jeju proper because SK Telecom is the only mobile operator selling SIM cards at the airport.