A company called Interbro (branded as Yota in Korea) has produced a product called an “egg” that works seamlessly with the KTF WiBro network. It essentially turns your WiMAX connection from your Korean mobile carrier into a WIFI hotspot. You can get speeds up to 4 megabits per second (incredible!), even in the subway in Seoul.  KT offers 30 gigabytes of data transfer per month for $20.

This means you can actually use your iPod Touch or any generation iPhone from Apple with a WiMax service here in Korea. Its still not the same iPhone 100%, but this allows you to take advantage of the many features of the iPhone.  If you have an iPod Touch, you’re basically putting it on steroids with a high speed connection. Simply download the Skype App for your iPhone and pay for a WiMAX account and you could actually eliminate your mobile phone bill in Korea. Pretty amazing.

I wonder if this WiMAX Egg is the “iPhone” in Korea they’ve been talking about. We’ll see.

The diagram below explains how it works.

Wanna find out how the USD is faring against the Korean won instantly? Here’s a great little iPhone application called Currency Exchange Rates. It’s actually an app you have to pay for, but definately worth it if you’re a traveler, a forex trader, or just interested in world currencies. Very easy to use. Just tap on a currency to change the base currency. You can even turn off the automatic updating feature (that gets the latest exchange rates), so that you don’t incur roaming charges in a foreign country.

In my recent travels, there’s been countless times when I could’ve taken advantage of this slick little tool.  Lots of news surrounding the debut of the iPhone in Korea. I know there’s been talk about it for the past 3 years, but now it seems like we may finally be seeing the iconic phone in Korea in the next month or two. I’ll follow up with updates as I get them on Kimchi Soup.

I love my iPhone. It is the best phone/handheld device that I have ever owned. I still have the 1st generation iPhone, but with constant software updates from Apple and 50,000 applications available from iPhone app developers, there’s always something new and interesting to do with it. The new iPhone 3Gs looks even more incredible. I have particular interest in the new phone’s “touch focus” camera and at last, a camera with video capability. To have a phone, high quality internet browsing, iPod, great low-end camera, and a video camera all in one device would be incredible (I currently have to carry my Korean phone, iPhone, AND my camera just about everywhere I go).

This is why one of my first tasks upon arriving in Korea was to get my iPhone working. I walked into every cell phone store I could find and simply said “SIM card” while pointing at my iPhone. Each representative would respond by crossing their arms and repeatedly saying “no, no, no.”

Finally, after visiting several stores with bilingual friends, I realized I was beating a dead horse.

There seems to be many theories on why the iPhone does not exist in Korea, but I think I have finally gotten to the bottom of this. You cannot have an iPhone in Korea for one main reason – Korean cellular phones are required to use what they call WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability). This has prevented any global competition from interfering with the big domestic hand-phone business in Korea.

For now, I have to deal with carrying 3 devices in my pocket. But, of all three devices, my iPhone is still my favorite. With WIFI everywhere in Korea, I am at times able to get on a network and browse the internet, check my email, or even make calls on my Skype internet phone on my iPhone despite not having cell phone capabilities.

However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope. This past April, the WIPI requirement has been lifted, allowing for other wireless platforms to compete. Apple has received approval from the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) to sell the iPhone 3G in Korea.  It is speculated that both SK Telecom and Korea Telecom (KT) are in talks to with Apple to release the iPhone under their networks. Then again, I have read from numerous sources that the iPhone was supposed to come to Korea last summer, then this past winter, then this past spring. At this point, we can only hope.