Nokia N82 in South Korea on UMTS 2100?

The N82 does have UMTS/WCDMA 2100 on it. Though there are some versions of the phone that don't have that band. I'm not sure exactly "which" ones don't have it or whether your phone is one of those or not (I'd lean more on that it does).

Whether you'll pick up any roaming signal is low at best, even so, if you make calls while it's roaming, you'll end up paying for it, LITERALLY. You're better off getting a Korean phone with a Korean carrier.

Japan and (S) Korea are the odd ones out when it comes to mobile phone compatibility with the rest of the world. China's not all that compatible either.

I believe Korea's wireless networks are CDMA-based (like Verizon and Sprint), but phones are not compatible with those using similar networks in the states.

 

This link should be useful to you, it shows the 2 carriers in S.Korea that use 3G (aka UMTS 2100, or WCDMA 2100) as well as coverage maps:

GSM Coverage Maps | Korea (South), Republic of

See if you can get a pre-paid card if you'll only be there for 1 year. South Korea has some CDMA and other weird homegrown networks. But it's a good idea if you stick with UMTS on 2100 as that's also used in Europe, Australia and other parts of the world, so if you move you can simply buy a new SIM card in the next country, pop it in your phoneand you'll be good to go. CDMA isn't used much except in Korea and USA, and it's more complicated to change phones from one net to another.

PS. UMTS on 2100 is indeed a 3G network. I don't know of any 2G netws using 2100MHz.

 

Using the same frequency bands does not always equal compatibility. The network technology used and other factors play a part in compatibility.

South Korea and Japan are different animals when it comes to mobile phones and networks, although (according to the site RadioRaiders provided the link for) there is a roaming possibility with your phone, it will be better for you, cost wise, just to get simple service with a Korean carrier, but hold onto your Nokia, as it will work in most other countries. Who knows how high roaming fees are between the Korean carriers and your home carrier? I wouldn't want to get the bill to find out. Take RadioRaider's suggestion about prepaid.

 

Yes, SIM cards are used with GSM and 3G (ie: UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA, HSPA) networks. The SIM card is basically your phone number and account. A GSM or 3G phone without a SIM is just an empty shell that can't be used for calling (well, ok, maybe emergency calls...)

Yea, ask to borrow someones SIM card to put in your phone and see if it works...

 

Just for comparison, when I had T-Mobile and traveled to South Korea a year ago, I couldn't roam on any provider. With Sprint, a few months ago when I was in South Korea I had CDMA voice service, but no SMS/MMS service. (I didn't check data since I didn't need to use it that trip, but if there is CDMA data coverage, I'd imagine it's pretty expensive.) I have also heard reports that Verizon internationally roams in South Korea using CDMA as well, but the last time I checked GSM roaming (T-Mobile and AT&T) was not available with GSM phones (don't know about AT&T's 3G phones though).