I didn't ask for the honor, but somehow it's been bestowed upon me by Google's search engine spiders.
People email me almost daily about the Mac in Korea, mostly with questions as to where to find stuff, which I feel less than knowledgeable about, since I don't have a terminal hooked into any central Apple database, nor am I an employee there.
Still, I am happy to have the web traffic, and to help out where I can. In this way, I want to offer here the best, bestest, and bestestest post on the Mac and Apple in Korea that I can put together, with the hope that Google will send people this way, and that this post can be a resource for them.
No, the OTHER Mac in Korea.
First of all, despite some really particular issues I've posted about in the past, support for Mac in Korea is better than ever. As a result of my scrape with trying to get a part for my Mac Pro (which was successful, by the way, as of 2 weeks ago, and I've got a post in the hopper ready to document that whole bizarre, but masochistically fun experience), I've gotten much more up to speed on the changes to the Korean Mac scene that have been going on over the course of the last year or so. As everyone who lives here knows, things in Korea change fast, and being even a year out of things can mean you're completely out of it.
To get things started off before my diarrhea of the keyboard takes over, here's an English list of authorized service centers in Korea (it appears updated), as well as the same one in Korean.
As for my opinion of the absolute best, most Mac-daddiest center of them all, it's the JR Mac Center in Jongno, right to the rear right of the Seoul YMCA. I suggest you just taxi there, telling the driver "Jongno YMCA." Directly to the right of the YMCA is an alleyway. Walk in there, looking for the "Jeil Building" (pronounced Je-eel). The building looks like it was built in the 60's, and hence only has Chinese on the front, but if you walk in the alley a bit, and look to the right, there's a building offset to the back a bit. On the entrance, you should see:
第一 빌딩
And/or you can ask any ajussi sitting in a little parking or guard booth where the building is. You could even key off of or show them this, and or call them and give the number to the taxi driver:
서울시 종로구 인사동 98번지 제일(第一 )빌딩 8층
02-733-9631
That's a better bet than asking where the Mac store is directly. No one will know what you're talking about.
And when you go, you can tell them that Michael, the guy with the iBook, hard disk, and Mac Pro issues, sent you. He'll probably go "Ah, aaaah." They also might wince. The portables guy is the nicest, coolest tech on Planet Earth – at least that was my each and every experience with him. Let me give you an updated roundup of the best repair centers I've found in Seoul (can't even really speak for anything outside):
Top Notch!!!
JR Mac Center. See above.
Pretty Good
The Yongsan service center. They're good, but busy and curt, and hidden away in one of the dark caverns of the Yongsan Electronics Market building (Etland). I can't even begin to describe how to find them off the top of my head, so I'll make this a destination point on my Yongsan walking tour podcast. But you might want to give them a call at Daehwa Computer (02) 717-4088.
Also pretty good – although the tech isn't in-house, and the guy I saw was actually from a tech center in nearby Chungmuro (perhaps even evil Dugotech, but you'd never get past the bitch at the door if you went yourself) is the brand-new PixDix store in Myeongdong. Importantly, they are in one of the most heavily-trafficked areas in Seoul, so they will be open on national holidays and Sundays, and until 9 PM every day. You can't get repairs on that day, but you can most certainly get it started, hehe.
They specialize in the higher end of things, especially digital photography and other kinds of media production, and have the friendliest staff and most knowledgeable staff I've seen in any retail outlet in Korea. I mean, they know what the shit they're talking about – at least, the people in the suits and ties do, as opposed to the pretty girls hired to be pretty girls standing in front of the iPods. But if all you want is accessories and pretty iPods, they're perfect for the job.
Fine, But By Hearsay Only
Anything in the Coex Mall, although you probably won't see a tech directly.
Avoid Like a Sick Chicken Held By a Coughing Man in an Avian Bird Flu-Infested Southern Chinese Province
Dugotech (02) 2273-7820. (I hear they're out of business, but just in case there are any "remnants", let me include this older bit of information) Let me count the ways I would gladly napalm this most recent (around one-year-old) service center, also in Chungmuro. But don't let that tempt you. If you want to be given one of the coldest treatments ever given to a customer, by a Receptionatrix whose irritation with having to deal with you – or even take customers – is readily apparent, and who answers every question with "fill out the form," then be my guest, masochist. If you're into the Korean female dominatrix, she definitely worth a visit. Fake a Mac problem and try to ask her a question about it (she'll just scowl at you for even trying), then when she tells you to fill out a form, ask to see a tech guy in person. She might just pull out a whip and go at you from there – or she might just as well scowl again, give a loud, affected sigh, and begrudgingly yell, "Oppa!" and return to clicking away at what is probably MSN Messenger on her computer.
Even though she's like 27 or so, she's sorta like Roz in Monsters, Inc., but with less charm, if you can imagine that. I can't even tell you how mean this woman is, and Suddenly Susan agrees with me, because she had a totally similar, horrible experience with her. During my recent repair, I actually asked the JR Mac Center tech guy – Mac Jesus – about her, and he smiled and simply said something like, "She's nice to people she knows."
OK – I'm glad Receptionatrix is working the front counter. And the tech guys were not on the ball, either. They're slow – and I'm not just saying this in the pick-up-your-step kinda slow, if you know whaddhamean. The one time I went in there to make a set time to take my computer in to have repaired early in the morning, it was a disaster. I showed up at 9 the next morning, as promised, and the tech had not shown up yet. The other guy said it was the rain and he was held up. From the look of the worker's surprised expression, it seemed more like the other tech had just forgotten. I gave up on that one and went to Chongno, stuck with them ever since. But, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I went there when I need a replacement power adaptor (thought they might have it on hand somewhere, since they are also a retail outlet). Receptionatrix said, "You have to fill out the form." Grrr. Whippppp! Ooh! Yes, ma'am, may I have another?
Anyway, they're in the second alleyway if you walk straight out from exit #5, where you'll turn right and walk in a bit. But honestly, I'd rather have my penis picked apart by a pack of crazed woodpeckers on meth than ever visit that place again. And they didn't even finish Suddenly Susan's Mac wasn't even repaired properly! She had to take it to Yongsan to get it properly fixed...In any case, do avoid DugoTech like the bubonic plague. Unless that pack of methed-up woodpeckers and whips are your thing, of course.
Now – on to wireless internet! I think the original post, along with its related comments, is already a good resource. You should be able to get hooked up to NESPOT in Korea pretty easily, if you're gonna be here for a while. If you're gonna be here for like 2 weeks or something, well, you just might end up paying the premium that temporary (usually business) travelers pay for wireless services in seemingly every country.
And those of you shopping for alternative services – stop. There may be some random other service, but there's really only NESPOT. If there are other services, I don't see them popping up as access points, but if you think you can beat $15 a month and nearly ubiquitous urban coverage, go ahead and waste your time, penny-pincher. (That was just a really snarky way of telling you not to look in almost a mean way, which I hope will really encourage you to really not waste your time and just come to the same conclusion).
Korean wireless internet with NESPOT is awesome. Simply awesome. American internet with crappy coverage for like $30-40 a month – man, talk about being screwed, royally, and with no Vaseline™ (thanks, Ice Cube).
Please post more Mac information in the comments below.
