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Best VPN for Korea 2020

There are countries in the world that do not allow their citizens to use their freedom of expression right online. Unfortunately, South and North Korea are two of them as these countries are following the footsteps of other oppressive countries like China, Venezuela, and Iran.

In this situation, you have no option left other than using the best VPN for Korea as it helps you access various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube without exposing your online whereabouts.

Here is the list that includes a handful of VPN services that help you regain your online freedom while residing in South or North Korea:

The 6 best Korea VPNs in 2020

For your ease, I have shortlisted some Country VPNs that offer South Korean servers in huge numbers. However, none of these VPNs exist in North Korea. But, you can unblock local North Korean content by using South Korean servers from abroad or any country instantly. These VPNs are:

1. PureVPN

PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for South Korea as it provides 18 servers in the country but does not offer a single server in North Korea. Hence, you can watch all the famous Korean TV shows like Boys over Flowers, Kill Me, Heal Me, Woman of Dignity, and others.

Besides, the service exists in all the major countries of the world through 2000+ servers across 140+ countries.  You can unblock various popular services like Hulu and Netflix using its foreign server while residing in Korea. If we discuss its privacy features, you can get internet kill switch, 5 multi-logins, split tunneling, and dedicated IP at the cost of $2.91 per month that allows you to use its 2-year plan stress-free that is coupled with 73% discount.

2. CyberGhost

CyberGhost is another VPN service you can use in North Korea and South Korea both. The service offers 12 dedicated servers in South Korea that help you unblock your favorite local shows like The Heirs, City Hunter, and others. However, you will not find the provider in North Korea. 

Apart from this, you can connect to any server from the list of 6000+ servers available in 80+ countries to unblock BBC iPlayer and other famous services. Like PureVPN, the Romania based service offers affordable pricing plans to its subscribers since you can obtain its 3-year subscription after paying just  $2.75/month alongside a 79% discount.

3. NordVPN

NordVPN provides 10 exclusive servers in South Korea that allow you to access North Korean TV shows like Crash Landing on You, Spy, and Inside North Korea’s Dynasty. On the other hand, the service does not exist in North Korea. If you talk about its global presence, NordVPN delivers 5000+ servers in 60+ countries. These servers can unblock Twitter and Facebook in a blink of an eye.

The Panama based provider offers some impressive privacy features such as kill switch, double hop, 6 multi-logins, DNS leak protection, and others. You should pay $3.49/month to attain its 3-year pricing plan that also provides a 70% discount.

4. Ivacy

You can use Ivacy VPN in Korea since it offers 5 servers in South Korea and 1000+ servers across 50+ countries worldwide. After connecting to your desired Korean servers, you can watch famous Korean shows like Doctor Stranger and Liar Game from overseas.

You can access Facebook and Snapchat after connecting to your desired foreign servers while staying in North Korea.  From the security point of view, the service does not keep logs of its users, provides 5 simultaneous connections, dedicated IP, IP leak protection, and other privacy features. All you have to do is to pay $2.25/month to get its 2-year plan that is embedded with a 77% discount.

5. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is another VPN for South Korea as it offers 1 server in the country but delivers 3000+ servers in 90+ countries globally. The BVI (British Virgin Island) based service does not provide a server in North Korea. If you reside in North Korea then you can connect to its foreign servers to access popular social media services like YouTube and Instagram too.

In case you are staying in countries other than South Korea, you can watch all your favorite shows like Prison Playbook, Goblin, and others. ExpressVPN does have some attractive privacy benefits for its users such as network lock (kill switch), 256-bit military-grade encryption, split tunneling, and so on. You will have to bear the cost of $8.32/month to get its yearly pricing package that includes a reasonable 35% discount.

6. Surfshark

Surfshark also provides 1 server in South Korea like ExpressVPN though it does not deliver a server in North Korea. The provider exists in 60+ countries of the world through 1040+ servers that are enough to unblock US Netflix and other international streaming platforms. Besides, you can access local shows like Emergency Couple and Healer from overseas. 

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) based provider has various privacy features like internet kill switch, unlimited simultaneous connections, and OpenVPN protocol including 256-military grade encryption. You can get its two-year pricing plan at the price of $1.99/month along with an 83% discount.

How to get a Korean VPN IP Address?

You can follow these simple steps to get a local Korean IP address that helps you keep your identity anonymous:

• Subscribe and download a VPN service like PureVPN
• Launch the VPN app after using your credentials

• Now connect to the Korean VPN server and access your favorite content

Important factors to consider while selecting a Korea VPN service

It does not matter if you are a visitor or a resident in South Korea, you must secure your digital footprints from ISPs and government surveillance agencies whenever you use the internet. The KCSC (Korea Communications Standards Commission) restricts online content due to its social and political differences with North Korea.

Therefore, you have to use a South Korea VPN to protect your privacy while accessing banned North Korean sites or services. If you don’t use a VPN, chances are that you may find yourself in the hot waters of legal troubles.

Also, you should use a VPN in North Korea but for that purpose, you will need to download and install the VPN service before arriving in the country. Otherwise, you might not be able to access the provider’s website in North Korea.

Here is the list of different factors you must contemplate while choosing a Korean VPN app:

• Server locations in Korea: Your selected VPN service must deliver several South Korean servers as other VPNs like PureVPN and CyberGhost offer to their users
• No logging policy: The VPN providers should not keep your browsing history at any cost if you use them in South or North Korea
• Tunneling protocols and encryption: The service must have a comprehensive list of tunneling protocols and 256-bit industry-standard encryption
• Compatibility: The chosen VPN for Korea should support a number of operating systems and devices thus you can use them from any Korean territory

How can I use a VPN service in South Korea?

You can use a VPN in South Korea once you install the VPN app on your preferred devices. You can follow the above-mentioned steps to install PureVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, or other VPN services on your Windows and mobile devices. You just need to download and install the app and run it on any platform like Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS.

Still, there are few settings you must know and these are:

Kill switch: This is one of the most important privacy features that do not transmit your data over the internet if your VPN service suddenly stops working.

Select your own protocol: You can select your own protocols based on your preferences. For instance, you need security but do not want excellent connection speeds then you may opt for OpenVPN protocol.

Prevailing Situation of Online Privacy in South Korea?

During 2017, an internet user and a journalist were both sentenced for one year and 14 months in South Korea under the National Security Act, as they were found guilty of sharing North Korean related content online. Women have been harassed and discriminated in the year 2017 because of raising their voices for feminist issues.

Best Free VPNs for Korea

We are not in favor of using free South Korean VPNs since they may sell your sensitive browsing data to third party marketers to make their both ends meet. They are slow at times and come with a data limit (100 to 500 MB/month) as well.

If you still want to use free Korea VPNs despite knowing all these harsh realities, you can use VPN Gate in Korea and others such as:

• Urban VPN (Provides 1 server in South Korea)
• Hide.me (has 1 server in South Korea)
• Fly VPN (Offers 20+ servers in Seoul)

Popular Websites/Services that are blocked in Korea and How to Access them

Here are some popular websites/services blocked in Korea:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Google
• Apple
• Netflix
• Instagram

But, you can connect to PureVPN or CyberGhost to unblock these banned sites in South and North Korea without any hassle. Similarly, you can use NordVPN, Ivacy, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark to access your favorite social media sites in the country anonymously. All these services deliver 10, 5, and 1 servers in South Korea respectively.

 Source: East Asia Research

FAQs

Wrapping Up

Summing up, the best VPN for Korea becomes an ideal solution to bypass rigorous South or North Korean online restrictions appropriately. By doing so, you can evade geo-blocking and defeat various cyber threats like identity theft, cyberbullying, and others next level.

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