While the lack of consistency can be an understandable frustration, here’s hoping that the special nature of the expat community’s desire for this particular product may be the catalyst that presses Korean companies to recognize the consumer power of international residents here.

Well, one can hope, anyway.

I have an iPhone – purchased for me by my lovely girlfriend – so I might be able to provide a few insights.

Data plan: I went with the most expensive of the three plans. 95,000 won monthly for 800 minutes of talk time, 300 text messages and 3 gb of data, the amount of data being the deciding factor. However, after two weeks, I’ve used only 100 mbs of data –  or roughly 0.03% of my monthly allowance. The big reason for the low usage is that the iPhone seamlessly switches from KT’s 3G network to WiFi whenever it’s available.

Nespot: Nespot is KT’s own widely available, for pay hotspot service. Each iPhone gets free access to every Nespot hotspot. Again, this is another reason why you likely won’t need 3GBs of data.

Tethering: You can use your iPhone to provide internet access for your laptop – either by USB or Bluetooth – free of charge on your existing data plan. I mention this because AT&T, the American carrier of the iPhone, still has not enabled this.

Night, weekend and roll-over minutes: These don’t exist in Korea.

Skype: I have Skype installed on my phone and am able to text my Skype contacts over 3G and make free Skype calls with the phone over WiFi.

International: If you are here on a one year contract and choose a pay-as-you-go contract, you will be able to use your iPhone once you have moved back to your own country. You may first have to jailbreak and then unlock it, but your phone will work with a any GSM compatible SIM card.

All in all, you still get lots of stares when you flash your iPhone in Korea. It’s very much in fashion. If you have any questions that aren’t answered here or in the Herald article linked to above, you can email me and I’ll give it a try. Good luck.

Former South Korean prime minister Han Myeong Sook was arrested Friday on suspicion of having taken a $50,000 bribe from a businessman during her tenure, prosecutors said.

I liked the Roh administration much more than I do the current one, but it’s starting to seem that everyone involved was completely corrupt.

verbally assaulted [Korean] students through the use of megaphones, calling them “bastards of spies” and shouting, “You smell like kimchi!” and “Stop acting up!”

While it’s easy to point to instances of racism and xenophobia here in Korea, it’s still very sad to see Koreans elsewhere persecuted on the basis of their ethnic heritage – and doubly so when the victims are children.

Via @drowcliffe

…the difference between Americans and Koreans here is, of course, Americans aren’t exposed to Korean from the day they’re born, don’t study it throughout grade school and college, and don’t have countless opportunities to hear it and read every day in adulthood.

Difficult to say why Koreans are so terrible at English, but I’d venture that the biggest reason is fear of losing face when making mistakes. Pride cometh before a failing test score, I guess.

Lee Myung-bak is bad news for workers in South Korea.

I contend that it isn’t possible to sincerely like these shoes. Anyone with even the slightest sense of style would avoid placing a foot in one for fear that it would instantly rot off in a tragedy of fashion faux pas.

Koreans are well dressed, in general. But it all depends whether the trendsetter of the day makes a wise first choice. Otherwise, it’s all just sheep being led down the runway to a trendy fashion slaughter. Please.

A study from 2005 by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs found that 42 percent of abortions involved unwed pregnant women.

If the South Korean government begins taking action on the illegal abortions, it needs also to financially lesson the burden of single parenthood as well as campaign to change the prevailing image of single mothers as unchaste whores. If it fails at either one of these tasks (and my guess is that it won’t even try), unwed pregnant women will be forced into underground facilities where they will continue to have abortions in precarious and unsanitary conditions.

At the moment, the abortion ‘debate’ is irresponsible, shortsighted and represents a very real danger to the safety of women around the country.

For nearly two decades, obstetrician Shim Sang-duk aborted as many babies as he delivered — on average, one a day, month after month.

“Over time, I became emotionless,” the physician said. “I came to see the results of my work as just a chunk of blood. During the operation, I felt the same as though I was treating scars or curing diseases.”

The majority of abortions here are motivated by finance and face, the government being indifferent to the plight of single mothers and the law wholly callous toward rape victims. The new position by the government opposing abortion also speaks to this cold valuation of human life: abortions should be restricted as a way to boost the population.

I despise the extremist pro lifers in North America, but at least their argument rests on the principle that a human life has value.