South Korea is iPhone-crazy

Jonny Evans
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November 28, 2009
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Apple’s iPhone launch in South Korea’s attracting much attention - not least because local carrier, KT Corp, has already confirmed 60,000 pre-orders for the device in the last week.

Queues of enthusiastic soon-to-be iPhone owners are reported to have met the Saturday morning launch of the device, with reporters trawling the queues for vox pops along the lines of “I’m so happy” to get my iPhone. In classic Apple tradition when the buzz really bounces in a territory, some customers waited in line for up to 26 hours.

It is also a big deal for the carrier. "We're hoping that this iPhone will be a trigger point for the smartphone market in Korea," said Yang Hyun-mi, KT's chief strategy officer, as reported by AP.

The iPhone only finally won approval for sale in South Korea last month. In Japan, iPhone is estimated to have acquired 20 percent market share, meanwhile sales are understood to be slow in China at present.

Comments (7)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 28, 2009 - 5:12am

Do you have the data for the Japan stats - 20% is huge! Esp. considering the FUD flinging prior to Japan release. Might be worth seeing usage in China too.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 28, 2009 - 7:35am

Yes, I wondering if they mean 20% of the smartphone marketshare.  Sounds more realistic.

Ashoka8350 (not verified) | November 28, 2009 - 7:30am

It's great to know there are over 60,000 pre orders for iPhone a 20% of the subscribers of this company.  But I don't think it is 20% S.Korean smart phone population.  LG and Samsung control 47 million smart phones in S.Korea.  Need some real stats to know the real story!

depression (not verified) | November 28, 2009 - 10:40pm

You can expect more than 50 comments simply because the article has the word "iPhone" in it. Because South Korea is iPhone-crazy.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | November 29, 2009 - 5:48pm

I was at the iPhone launch on Saturday.  There were a lot of people there... they had pre-ordered their iPhones online.  However, many others were supposed to receive their iPhones via special delivery on Saturday and Today.  I've been told that many of those people did not receive their phones on Saturday and that the first shipment of phones into the country was much smaller than KT anticipated.

 

Additionally, KT excluded all foreigners from reserving an iPhone and being included in the 1,000 lottery at the iPhone Launch Party at Jamsil Stadium.  I only saw 1 other foreigner at the iPhone Launch Party... it is interesting that KT and Apple excluded foreigners from this process because foreigners have supported Apple throughout its long, difficult entry into the country... and many foreigners are anxiously awaiting purchase of the phone.  Further, foreigners are being excluded from the discounted plans that KT is advertising.

 

I've visited 3 stores over the weekend (2 KT stores and 1 Apple reseller)... all of them are aware of the iPhones arrival, but have no information on when they will arrive at the stores.  All said that December 1st was supposed to be the date, but they hadn't received phones or information.  Additionally, they were unsure of how foreigners would be able to purchase the phones, but all stated that it would be impossible for foreigners to receive the discounts that are being announced by KT (I confirmed this with KT headquarters on Friday).

 

I am under the impression that KT was not prepared for this launch despite having a couple of years to prepare.  Evenstill, I believe the iPhone craze in Korea is real. 

Chris (not verified) | December 01, 2009 - 3:39pm

Waiting times of up to 26 hours? That's insane, if these people are so desperate to get an iphone why didn't they pre-order it? People hurt my head sometimes... Find out how getting a free iphone works here

9to5Mac Noob Fan (not verified) | December 10, 2009 - 3:10am

I've been trying to get an iphone for over a week now.  It's next to impossible to get any information in english and my Korean isn't good enough that I might tackle the Show's Korean only website.

 

I went into the "show" store on the military base, but they told me I had to pay full price for my iphone, over $800.  I then saw 4 iphones on the counter.  I found it hard to believe that anyone would shell out $800 for an iphone, let alone 4 of them.  I asked them if those were $800 iphones.  They said they were not, that they were for foreigners, but they were purchased at the website at the normal Korean price of $300.  I asked them how to do this and they just referred me once again to the Korean only website.

 

I'm desperate to get an iphone, but I'd like to avoid locking in a Korean friend in a 2 year contract if at all possible.  The easiest solution would be to pay what we foreigners call a "deposit", but this concept hasn't reach the Korean cell phone companies.  If any foreigners have found a way to get the iphone (even at full price), please let me know at aquilajedi@hotmail.com  thx.