iMac Support in Korea

[RainCityMacFan]

Hey, recently I moved to Korea (Busan) and I was wondering, does Apple sell power cords for their 20" iMacs (the new alu/black ones)?

Also, if possible, can some one help me find an Apple Retail store here since I can't navigate Apple's Korean website.

Thanks

 

[mavis]

Wirelessly posted (iTouch 1.1.2 (JB'd): Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3B48b Safari/419.3)

Don't know about Korea (sorry) but at least here in Japan they have English speaking staff available when you call Apple Sales. I was able to find the number online fairly easily as apple.jp and apple.com have an identical layout. So I found the number for sales on the American site and then retraced my steps on the .jp site ...

Hope that helps.

 

[sushi]

Also, if possible, can some one help me find an Apple Retail store here since I can't navigate Apple's Korean website.

Don't see a Korea flag on the Apple web site.

If there is a store, it will be in Seoul. Since you are in Busan, that would be a long ways to travel.

Hey, recently I moved to Korea (Busan) and I was wondering, does Apple sell power cords for their 20" iMacs (the new alu/black ones)?
Why do you need a new cable?

Your iMac will work with 100V to 240V and 50/60 Hz. So no problem using it in Korea. You just need a 3 prong to Korean 2 prong w/ground adapter. I just picked on up for about $8 in Korea when I was there last month.

Edit: Found the Korea Apple Store. It's located at:

159 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu
Seoul ASEM Tower, 3201

I think you can reach them at 080-3404-622

 

[makku]

Wow everything at the Korean Apple Store is expensive compared to the Japanese one.. And I thought Japanese Store was overcharging compared to the US one.

 

[sushi]

KJmoon117 did we answer your questions?

 

[SaSaSushi]

Wow everything at the Korean Apple Store is expensive compared to the Japanese one.. And I thought Japanese Store was overcharging compared to the US one.

Not to take this off topic but where are you looking?

The price for the default 24" aluminum iMac on the Korean Apple Store is 1,890,000 won ($2018.52).

The Japan Store sells it for 239,800 yen ($2118.63).

Both of them are ridiculously overpriced compared to the US Store which sells it for $1799.00 but Japan is definitely the most expensive.

Europe beats both of them though. The UK store sells it for 1149 GBP ($2293.63) so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Even with an educational discount I ended up paying about $200 more for my iMac here than I would have in the states at regular retail. Then again, having dealt with both, I would much rather deal with the very liberal and helpful Applecare folks here in Japan than those in the US.

 

[RainCityMacFan]

KJmoon117 did we answer your questions?

Sorry for not replying but yeah. Thanks everyone, I found an adapter (it's very small and it scares the crap outta me) and now my iMac is back!

Now, I was wondering... My adapter doesn't seem to support the ground line (rounded prong underneath the square ones), it that ok or do I have to go and buy one with a ground line?

Thanks

P.S. Well I'm kind of going off topic on my own thread here but can I buy my Apple goods from the State's Store instead of the Korean one? Thanks

 

[sushi]

Sorry for not replying but yeah. Thanks everyone, I found an adapter (it's very small and it scares the crap outta me) and now my iMac is back!

Now, I was wondering... My adapter doesn't seem to support the ground line (rounded prong underneath the square ones), it that ok or do I have to go and buy one with a ground line?

You can run your iMac without a grounding plug.

However, having a ground is a good thing. While not as important as it was 10-20 years ago, it is still good to have to be on the safe side.

I would suggest that you try to find a ground adapter. They cost about $10. Then you don't have to worry if a grounding situation occurs because you will have grounded your iMac.

BTW, how long are you going to be in Korea? And what electronic devices do you need to run at 110 volts?

P.S. Well I'm kind of going off topic on my own thread here but can I buy my Apple goods from the State's Store instead of the Korean one? Thanks

Yes you can if you ship to a US address. So you could ship to a family member in the US and then they can forward to you. However, postage from the US to overseas can be expensive.

So if you find a local electronics shop that sells/services Macs, you might be able to purchase the items from them for around what it costs you to purchase in the states and have it mailed to you.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Yes you can if you ship to a US address. So you could ship to a family member in the US and then they can forward to you. However, postage from the US to overseas can be expensive.

Not to mention import tariffs!

I had considered going that route, having an iMac shipped to my parent's house in New Jersey and then shipping it from there to here but it would have ended up being more expensive than from Apple Japan in the end with shipping and taxes.

 

[sushi]

Not to mention import tariffs!

I had considered going that route, having an iMac shipped to my parent's house in New Jersey and then shipping it from there to here but it would have ended up being more expensive than from Apple Japan in the end with shipping and taxes.

Plus, if there is something wrong with it, depending on where your purchased it, you may need to do the process in reverse which costs even more extra $, yen or what have you.

When you purchase an Apple product locally, you can simply exchange for another one if something is wrong. Regarding the Apple Stores in Japan, they seem to have good Genius Bars and do a great job of helping the customer. And they are bilingual which is nice.

Here in Japan, places like Yodobashi Camera have their own Mac sales area in many stores and even have an Apple rep on hand most of the time to help.

 

[RainCityMacFan]

Thanks dudes

I'm going to be in Korea for about 1 year to get my VISA renewed since my family already used up the entire 9 years.

I'll try to get a ground adapter but so far I got a surge protector for my iMac so it seems happy for now hehe.

 

[sushi]

I'm going to be in Korea for about 1 year to get my VISA renewed since my family already used up the entire 9 years.

I'll try to get a ground adapter but so far I got a surge protector for my iMac so it seems happy for now hehe.

Yep, definitely use a surge protector.

If you have multiple items that need 110 volts, you might want to get a good voltage converter, connect your surge protector, then run your normal 110 volt items from the surge protector.

This way you don't have to deal with the voltage issue on the other items, your computer is protected with the surge protector, and you don't need to get adapters for each 110 volt device.

A fellow that I know who has lived in Korea for quite some time, fixed his house up that way. He has one huge voltage converter that provides power for his entire home. That way he can just use the regular 110 volt items as they are without adapters or mini voltage converters.

 

[makku]

Sorry what I posted was off topic. I'm glad the OP found the power adapter he was looking for.

Not to take this off topic but where are you looking?

The price for the default 24" aluminum iMac on the Korean Apple Store is 1,890,000 won ($2018.52).

The Japan Store sells it for 239,800 yen ($2118.63).

Both of them are ridiculously overpriced compared to the US Store which sells it for $1799.00 but Japan is definitely the most expensive.

Europe beats both of them though. The UK store sells it for 1149 GBP ($2293.63) so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Even with an educational discount I ended up paying about $200 more for my iMac here than I would have in the states at regular retail. Then again, having dealt with both, I would much rather deal with the very liberal and helpful Applecare folks here in Japan than those in the US.

Last time, my mind was in business mode and I was using crossrate values so the difference was more prominent but even with current exchange rate of about 1 won being about 0.1190 yen, most items in Korean store is more expensive than the Japanese store.

Just a few sample from the top page.
iPod shuffle Y9800/0.1190 = W82,353 ... Korean Store W85,000
iPod touch Y36800/0.1190 = W309,244 ... " W324,000
MacBook Y139800/0.1190 = W1,174,790 ... " W1,190,000
Mac Pro Y319800/0.1190 = W2,687,395 ... " W2,890,000

Now for the 24" iMac you are right.
Y239800/0.1190 = W2,015,126
So Korean store at W1,890,000 is indeed a better deal.

Anyways, I'm glad I got my Mac back in the US.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Sorry what I posted was off topic. I'm glad the OP found the power adapter he was looking for.

Last time, my mind was in business mode and I was using crossrate values so the difference was more prominent but even with current exchange rate of about 1 won being about 0.1190 yen, most items in Korean store is more expensive than the Japanese store.

Just a few sample from the top page.
iPod shuffle Y9800/0.1190 = W82,353 ... Korean Store W85,000
iPod touch Y36800/0.1190 = W309,244 ... " W324,000
MacBook Y139800/0.1190 = W1,174,790 ... " W1,190,000
Mac Pro Y319800/0.1190 = W2,687,395 ... " W2,890,000

Now for the 24" iMac you are right.
Y239800/0.1190 = W2,015,126
So Korean store at W1,890,000 is indeed a better deal.

Anyways, I'm glad I got my Mac back in the US.

My apologies. I was making a big assumption on the costs of the store overall by simply checking the prices on one item.

Thanks for the clarification and it really isn't that off topic.

 

[RainCityMacFan]

Well I'm only going to stay in Korea for a year so I might as well not invest in a power converter seeing that I have better appliances in Korea that runs natively on 220v (at my parent's house).

Also, I might as well wait a year for my iTouch =/. At least I could save some bucks hehe.

 

[sushi]

Well I'm only going to stay in Korea for a year so I might as well not invest in a power converter seeing that I have better appliances in Korea that runs natively on 220v (at my parent's house).

Understand.

Unless you are 100% sure that you are only going to be in Korea for one year, you might want to consider long term solutions.

Why do I say that? Well I know many folks who came to Korea, Japan, etc. for one year that ended up staying much longer. So you never know.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Understand.

Unless you are 100% sure that you are only going to be in Korea for one year, you might want to consider long term solutions.

Why do I say that? Well I know many folks who came to Korea, Japan, etc. for one year that ended up staying much longer. So you never know.

Exactly. I came over for "one year" in January 1994 and I'm just about to celebrate my 14th anniversary on the 20th.

 

[sushi]

Exactly. I came over for "one year" in January 1994 and I'm just about to celebrate my 14th anniversary on the 20th.

Cool.

I too am one of those that came and stayed for a while longer than planned.

 

[adrianrulz]

How much to ship?

Not to mention import tariffs!

I had considered going that route, having an iMac shipped to my parent's house in New Jersey and then shipping it from there to here but it would have ended up being more expensive than from Apple Japan in the end with shipping and taxes.

Hi folks,

I too am moving to Korea (Kwangju) and I have an American iMac that I want to have sent to me. I found a place where I can get a voltage converter but I wanted to know if anyone could give me a ball park on shipping costs and taxes.

Any info would be deeply appreciated