Incheon eSIM
In Incheon you connect to SKT or KT, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 104 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- SKT and KT
- Typical speed in South Korea
- 104 Mbps typical, 36 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Incheon
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.96 | $8.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.18 | $10.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.59 | $15.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.19 | $23.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $0.94 | $46.89 |
How South Korea compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, SKT, KT
- 5G
- Yes, standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Singapore, 119 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Hong Kong, 92 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Incheon
Landing at Incheon International Airport (ICN)
- Airport
- ICN / RKSI
- Distance
- 48 km from the centre of Incheon
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalIncheon Airport states that it provides limitless free Wi-Fi, and that there are free charging stations throughout the airport so a power bank can be topped up while waiting.
- SIM on arrival
- SIM counters or vending in the terminalKT, SK Telecom and LG U+ roaming centres are listed near Arrival Hall F on the west side of the first floor of Terminal 1, all open 24 hours. KT also has a 24 hour desk near Exit 4 on Terminal 2's first floor.
Getting into Incheon
- AREX to Gyeyang, interchange for Incheon Subway Line 1 (ICN), about 6 minutes. Runs through tunnels, where a signal drops
- Inter-terminal shuttle bus, Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 (ICN), about 15 minutes
Underground and on the metro
Incheon Subway runs 3 lines. It opened in 1999. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Incheon
- The airport is west of Incheon's own city centre and is not directly on the Incheon Subway: the connection is made by taking AREX to Gyeyang and changing to Incheon Line 1.
- Incheon Subway Line 2 has above-ground sections north of Asiad Stadium, so coverage behaviour differs from the fully bored parts of the network.
- Seoul Metro Line 7 extends into Incheon with 11 stations, so the city is reachable on the Seoul network as well as its own.
- Arriving passengers enter Incheon Airport on the second floor, clear immigration, then take the escalator down to the first floor for baggage and exit into the arrival hall on that first floor.
- The KT, SK Telecom and LG U+ roaming centres in Terminal 1 are all listed at the same place, near Arrival Hall F on the west side of the first floor, and all three are open 24 hours.
- Terminal 2 has KT roaming desks between check-in counters F and G on the third floor and near Exit 4 on the first floor, the latter open 24 hours.
- The Korea Tourism Organization says roaming centres run by local network operators are at Incheon Airport, and that prepaid SIM cards are sold at CU convenience stores inside the airport, typically for 1 to 90 days.
- The Korea Tourism Organization describes free public Wi-Fi as available in most public locations in Korea, including airports, subway stations, train stations and certain bus stops.
- Seoul's free public Wi-Fi is published under the network name SEOUL_Secure, joined with the ID seoul and the password seoul, and covers main streets, bus stops and city buses as well as parks and markets.
- Seoul says foreign credit cards cannot yet be tapped straight onto bus and subway readers. EMV terminals are planned for buses from 2026, subway Lines 1 to 8 in 2027, and the wider Incheon and Gyeonggi network by 2030.
- Seoul has put 440 transit card vending machines in 273 stations on subway Lines 1 to 8 that take international Visa and Mastercard for single journey tickets and for Climate Card passes.
- A Tmoney card costs 3,000 to 5,000 won and is sold at convenience stores nationwide including GS25, CU and 7-Eleven, and at subway station information centres.
- The Airport Railroad platforms are in the Transportation Center on basement level 1 of each terminal. The airport's route diagram gives Terminal 1 at 6 minutes, Gimpo Airport at 44 and Seoul Station at 66 from Terminal 2.
- The inter-terminal shuttle bus runs every 10 minutes from 05:00 to 23:00, taking about 15 minutes from Terminal 1 and about 18 back. It boards on level 3 at Terminal 1 Central Exit 8.
- Terminal 1 has a separate Concourse reached only by a shuttle train from basement level 1 after security, boarding every 5 minutes. The airport warns that once you board you cannot return.
- Buses leave Terminal 1 from the first floor kerb, Seoul routes outside exits 3 to 7, Gyeonggi routes exits 7 to 10 and intercity routes exits 11 to 13, with ticket booths inside next to exits 4 and 9.
- Incheon Airport advises allowing 1 to 2 hours for immigration after landing when booking onward public transport, and says limousine bus fares can be paid by transportation card or credit card at the terminal before boarding.
- Incheon Airport runs transit tours for passengers whose layover is 24 hours or less, with registration desks on the first floor of Terminal 1 near Gates 1 and 2 at desks 19 and 20.
- The airport sits on land reclaimed between Yeongjong and Yongyu islands, 48 km west of Seoul, and opened on 29 March 2001.
- The Airport Railroad does not run in tunnel the whole way. The two deck Yeongjong Bridge, completed in 2000 and 4,420 m long, carries both the AREX train and road traffic off the island.
- The second road link, the 21.38 km Incheon Bridge, opened in October 2009 and gives direct access between Songdo and the airport.
- Incheon Airport says it was the first in the world to win the Airports Council International Airport Service Quality award for 12 consecutive years, from 2006 to 2017.