The short answer
You have a Telstra plan and a flight to Seoul, and the choice is whether to roam or buy a travel eSIM first. I read Telstra's roaming page on 10 November 2026 and set its A$10 a day against the eSIMs I priced on 10 November 2026. For one day in transit I would stay on the Day Pass. For anything longer I would buy Ringo Light and keep my Telstra SIM in for calls.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $23.99 or 30 days at $35.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for the month.
10 GB for 30 days at $14 and 25 GB at $25, on LG U+ and SK Telecom with 5G.
Unlimited for 3 days at $11 and 20 GB for 30 days at $28, on SK Telecom, KT and LG U+.
Days, not gigabytes, no daily cap stated for your own phone, on SK Telecom and LG U+. $27.50 for a week.
Prices read on 10 November 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi, Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank on their own sites or listings, Ringo Light from its catalogue. All in US dollars unless stated. Treat every number as a snapshot.
See the full price index for every country.
Travelling further? Compare the best eSIM for Asia and the eSIM for Asia-Pacific.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 10 November 2026. The rivals sell 15 days, Ringo Light 2 weeks. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 15-day unlimited.
The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for South Korea, from $9.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 3 days $9.99
- 2 weeks $23.99
- 30 days $35.99
We sell data eSIMs for now to fund the full Ringo service. Ringo is self funded. Every plan bought here pays for the build of one plan that works everywhere.
Want to keep your own number abroad?
That is the full Ringo service: one plan that works everywhere, with your own number included.
It is a separate product from Ringo Light and it is still being built, so it is not on sale yet. Join the waitlist to hear when it opens.
What to do in South Korea, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most first trips include, from Seoul down to Busan, Gyeongju and Jeju. Whichever plan you pick, the tip under each one is where your phone matters, and I would put Naver Map or KakaoMap on it before the flight.
Roam with Telstra, or buy an eSIM
On 10 November 2026 I read Telstra's International Roaming page, which puts South Korea in Zone 2 at A$10 a day on the International Day Pass. A day is charged when the phone makes or receives a call, sends a text or uses data, background data included. At the ECB reference rate of 10 November 2026, A$1 = $0.69, that is about $7 for one day, A$30 (about $21) for three days of use, A$140 (about $97) for two weeks and A$300 (about $207) for 30 days. The page shows no monthly pass, so a month is 30 daily charges.
Ringo Light is one payment per trip: $9.99 for 3 days, $23.99 for 2 weeks and $35.99 for 30 days. Three days in Seoul is about $21 on the Day Pass against $9.99. Two weeks is about $97 against $23.99, and a month is about $207 against $35.99.
Among the travel eSIMs, Ringo Light is also the cheapest unlimited for two weeks and a month, on the prices I read on 10 November 2026. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $69 for 30 days, Holafly $50.50 and $73.90. Ubigi is $34 for 15 days and $49 for a month, but it is 30 GB or 60 GB at full speed and then 2 Mbps. For 3 days Nomad charges $11 against $9.99.
What Telstra wins is real, and I do not wave it away. Your Australian number keeps ringing, calls and SMS are included, nothing needs installing, and a phone with no eSIM slot works. For one night at Incheon, about $7 is cheaper than any eSIM here. From the second day of use, the Ringo Light 3 days at $9.99 is already ahead.
Networks in South Korea, and what the Day Pass gives you
South Korea has three networks, SK Telecom, KT and LG U+, and all three cover Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju and Jeju well. Airalo rides SK Telecom, Holafly SK Telecom and LG U+, Ubigi LG U+ and SK Telecom, and Nomad all three. Ringo Light uses a local partner network. On the cities and the KTX line I would not choose a plan on network.
The Day Pass has terms of its own. It includes 2 GB of data a day and unlimited standard calls and SMS, and unused data expires at the end of each day. Telstra's page states no roaming speed and no hotspot rule, so I cannot tell you either. On Upfront plans the pass runs for 24 hours from first use. On other plans it runs to 11:59pm AEST. Receiving an SMS does not start a day. Telstra sells a 2 GB top up at A$10 (about $7), valid for 31 days. The page sends Pre-Paid customers to separate roaming packs and gives no prices for them, so this page prices the Day Pass only.
The travel eSIMs here are data only, with no Korean number. Calls go over apps that use data. Some Korean services ask for a Korean number to text a code, and I would not expect any travel eSIM to supply one.
If you want a data bucket: Ubigi
- Ubigi, $14 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB for 30 days, and 25 GB for $25, on LG U+ and SK Telecom with 5G.
- Nomad, $18 for 10 GB. 20 GB for $28, on all three Korean networks.
- Airalo, $19 for 10 GB. Its Jjang plan rides SK Telecom. 20 GB for $30.
- ✓Telstra, a 2 GB top up for A$10. That is about $7 for 2 GB valid for 31 days, which is dear per gigabyte next to the buckets above. It is the only data you can add without installing anything.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Its 2 weeks is unlimited for $23.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $35.99. For a fixed 10 GB, Ubigi at $14 is the better buy, and Nomad sells 20 GB for $28. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is Ringo's own data eSIM, and I write for Ringo, so weigh that. It is data only: no number, no calls, no texts. It sits beside your own SIM, so your Telstra number keeps working for calls and texts. For South Korea it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $23.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. One payment, and the eSIM arrives by email as a QR code in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
Telstra's Day Pass charges a day whenever the phone is used, so I would switch Telstra roaming off while the eSIM carries the data, and switch it on only for a call I need. If you plan stops, I would read /blog/best-esim-for-seoul and /blog/best-esim-for-japan.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
Telstra Day Pass. A single A$10 day, about $7, no purchase and nothing to install.
Ringo Light unlimited, 3 days, $9.99, against about $21 on the Day Pass. Nomad is $11.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $23.99, against about $97 on the Day Pass and less than any rival charges for one week of unlimited.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99, against about $207 on the Day Pass. Ubigi at $49 for 60 GB at full speed if you move big files every day.
Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $14.
Keep your Telstra SIM in beside the eSIM. The Day Pass carries calls and SMS on your number and the travel eSIMs do not; the full Ringo, which Ringo Light funds, ports the number you have.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi, Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for South Korea on 10 November 2026, all on the same day, in US dollars. Each rival's price comes from its own website where it showed dollars, otherwise from an esimdb.com listing, and every source and its date is listed below. Ringo Light's prices come from the catalogue our checkout charges.
We compare the trips people actually book: a week, two weeks and a month of unlimited data, and a 10 GB bucket. We read each brand's fair use and speed rules and quote them as the brands state them. We did not run speed tests, so this page makes no speed claims for any brand.
Ringo Light is our own product. We put it in the table on the same terms as everyone else, and where a rival is the better buy the page says so.
Left out: Saily. I could not read its prices for this country on 22 October (saily.com and esimdb.com refused the fetch), so it has no bar in the charts rather than a guessed one.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/south-korea-esim?currency=USD, unlimited read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; buckets from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-south-korea/, read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/south-korea-esim, read on the site, plan data in dollars, 10 November 2026; 10 GB on sale at $18, regular $20; networks from the same page
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/south-korea-data-plans/south-korea-unlimited-30-days/, 30-day unlimited page read on the site in dollars, 10 November 2026; 7 and 15 day, 10 GB and 25 GB plans from the esimdb listing dated 4 October 2026
- Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming, International Day Pass zones, South Korea in Zone 2 at A$10 a day, the 2 GB a day allowance, how a day is counted, the Pre-Paid note and the A$10 2 GB top up, read 10 November 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/south-korea, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 10 November 2026, the latest published that day, used for the dollar figures (A$1 = $0.69)
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 10 November 2026.
Written and priced by the Ringo team. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, tell us through the contact page and we will update the table.
