How do you get a mobile phone number in South Korea in 2026?

All three major networks sell short-stay products through their own or authorised channels. KT says a standard passport can open prepaid service, while postpaid service requires resident documentation. Its passport-based line is limited to 90 days from activation unless the customer completes the required resident verification. LG U+ sells passport-verified travel SIMs and eSIMs.

An eSIM is a digital SIM profile installed on a compatible unlocked phone. A physical SIM is removable. Either format can provide a Korean number when the selected product includes voice, but a data-only product may not. Check device compatibility, voice and text inclusion, activation deadline, refund terms, and the name under which the line will be registered.

A working tourist number is not automatically a resident identity tool. Ask the seller in writing whether that exact prepaid product supports foreigner mobile self-verification, not merely incoming verification texts.

The Residence Card is the identity card issued after qualifying foreigner registration. Take it to an official carrier shop with your Korean address and payment method. SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ can each offer resident products, but contract term, deposit, handset financing, and accepted bank or card payment vary with the customer and product.

KT's official guide requires time remaining on immigration permission for its resident service and ties service validity to the card. SK Telecom's identity-document guide requires the foreign resident's card for an in-person application. A minor needs guardian consent and relationship documents under carrier rules, with extra distinctions around age 14.

An MVNO is a lower-cost mobile virtual network operator using another carrier's network. Its price may be lower, but foreign-ID onboarding, English help, eSIM support, and identity-verification access can be narrower. Confirm these functions with that MVNO, not only the host network.

The carrier must store the same romanised name and foreigner registration number held in the immigration record. The Korea Communications Commission guide tells registered foreigners to enter the card name exactly, in uppercase, for supported online checks. Before leaving the shop, ask staff to read back the stored spelling and test one required service.

PASS is a mobile identity-verification app offered through Korean carriers. Its official guidance says a foreigner can use it only if mobile-phone identity verification and app enrolment succeed. That is conditional, not a promise that every prepaid line, eSIM, MVNO, device, age, or status supports PASS.

A bank account can supply payment, but it does not create resident identity. Likewise, a phone subscription does not create immigration status, a foreigner registration number, health cover, or work permission.

At activation, test calls, texts, mobile data, account login, and any needed Korean-site verification. Keep the SIM packaging and contract, record the cancellation route, and check whether a handset instalment or minimum term survives a plan change.

Number portability moves an eligible active number to another provider, subject to identity matching and the receiving provider's rules. Do not cancel first if you want to keep the number. Before leaving South Korea, settle billed charges, cancel the line and handset finance through the official channel, and save confirmation. An abandoned postpaid line can keep billing.