1 · The short answer
Every travel eSIM sells Seoul as part of its South Korea plan. We priced the six that get most of the traffic on the same day, for a long weekend, a week and two weeks with trips beyond the city, and looked at what your phone has to do between Incheon, the subway, the map apps and the DMZ.
Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $22.99 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 27 September 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi 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.
2 · The prices, charted
US dollars, 27 September 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.
3 · Side by side
Swipe to compare →
Get Ringo Light for Seoul, from $22.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
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.
4 · What to do in Seoul, and what your phone does for you there
Six places for a first visit to Seoul, from the royal palaces to the DMZ. Most are on the subway, with good 4G and 5G. Use Naver Map or KakaoMap, since Google Maps walking directions are limited in Korea.
5 · Getting online at Incheon and Gimpo
Most visitors land at Incheon, ICN, which has two terminals. Switch your eSIM on when the plane lands and the data connects on the way to the baggage hall. Gimpo, GMP, is the smaller airport for flights from Tokyo, Osaka and some other short routes.
From Incheon the AREX airport railway runs to Seoul Station, with an express train and an all-stops train. Airport buses and taxis go to the main hotel districts too. Gimpo is on the subway, so it connects to the city without a transfer to a separate airport line.
6 · Signal on the Seoul subway and AREX
Seoul's subway has mobile coverage in the stations and in the tunnels between them, so a map or a message keeps working on the train. AREX trains have it too. You do not need to download anything before you ride.
Seoul is large and spread over several districts. Most days cross the city two or three times, and a maps app open on each trip is where most of your data goes.
7 · Naver Map, KakaoMap, T-money and Kakao T
Google Maps gives only limited walking and transit directions in Korea. Most travellers use Naver Map or KakaoMap, which give subway, bus and walking routes and run on your data. Set either one to English before you land.
T-money is the rechargeable transit card for the subway and buses, sold and topped up with cash at convenience stores and station machines. Foreign bank cards often do not work at the gates. Kakao T calls a taxi from your phone, though some Korean services ask for a text code to a Korean number, which no data-only travel eSIM can receive.
Papago translates menus and signs by camera. All of these need data on the street, so a plan that does not run out matters more here than in many cities.
8 · Which plan fits a Seoul trip
A long weekend: Airalo sells 3 days of unlimited at $12, Nomad at $11 and Holafly at $12.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan, so for two or three nights one of those is the better buy.
A week: Nomad sells 7 days at $25, Holafly at $27.50 and Airalo at $29. Ringo Light sells no 7-day plan, but its 2 weeks of unlimited data costs $22.99, less than any of those weeks. You simply have days left over.
Two weeks or a month: Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99 or 30 days at $35.99. Both cover all of South Korea, Seoul included, with nothing to change when you take the KTX to Busan or fly to Jeju.
9 · What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is our own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For South Korea, Seoul included, it sells two trips, both unlimited data: 2 weeks at $22.99 and 30 days at $35.99. Nothing renews. Fair use policy, see Terms. The eSIM arrives by email and installs in one scan, no app.
If a fixed amount of data is enough, Ubigi sells 10 GB for 30 days at $14, and Nomad 20 GB for $28. Ringo Light sells no buckets. The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
10 · Pick by trip
Nomad unlimited, 3 days, $11. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.
Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $22.99, less than a 7-day plan at Nomad ($25), Holafly ($27.50) or Airalo ($29).
Ringo Light 2 weeks at $22.99 covers all of South Korea.
Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $35.99.
Ubigi 10 GB for 30 days at $14.
11 · Frequently asked questions
12 · How we compared, and our sources
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Seoul on 27 September 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: Maya Mobile. We could not read its own prices for this country on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/south-korea-esim?currency=USD, unlimited in dollars on the site; buckets from esimdb.com/south-korea/airalo, 23 September 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-south-korea/
- Saily: esimdb.com/south-korea/saily, listing dated 2 July 2026; saily.com refused the fetch
- Nomad: esimdb.com/south-korea/nomad, listing dated 20 September 2026; nomadesim.com served euro prices
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/south-korea-data-plans/south-korea-unlimited-30-days/
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 27 September 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.
