Best VPNs for South Korea for Speed, Privacy & Streaming

10 Best VPNs for South Korea for Speed, Privacy & Streaming in 2023

Are you looking for the best VPNs for South Korea? 

South Koreans are some of the most connected people in the world, which means there’s potential for some serious VPN-related security risks. 

But don’t worry – there are plenty of great VPNs out there that can keep your data safe and anonymous while you’re using the internet in South Korea. 

In this article, I’ll share with you the top VPNs for South Korea, and what each one offers in terms of security, performance, and features. So whether you’re a local or a traveler, you’re sure to find something that fits your needs. 

Let’s get started!

Here’s a quick summary:

VPN FEATURES  DISCOUNTS 
nordvpn logo square   Servers: 5,600
Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer
Torrenting: P2P Servers
Price: $3.29/month
GET 59% OFF
surfshark logo square   Servers: 3,200
Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer
Torrenting: All Servers
Price: $1.99/month
GET 87% OFF
expressvpn logo square   Servers: 3,000
Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer
Torrenting: All Servers
Price: $8.32/month
GET 35% OFF
CyberGhost Square Logo   Servers: 9,500
Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer
Torrenting: P2P Servers
Price: $2.11/month
GET 84% OFF
privatevpn logo square   Servers: 200
Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer
Torrenting: P2P Servers
Price: $1.99/month
GET 85% OFF

1. NordVPN

NordVPN-Home-Server-Connect

NordVPN is a VPN service provider based in Panama, that enables you to access the internet securely and privately, through their collection of servers.

They have a script no logs policy whereby they don’t keep any logs of your internet activities. What’s more is that these claims were validated by an independent audit carried out by Deloitte in December, 2022, that confirmed the presence of no logs.

It is one of the best VPNs for South Korea for a number of reasons.

Here’s a detailed review of NordVPN.

Currently, they have a total of 5,600 servers that are spread out in 60 different countries. They also have actual servers in South Korea which means you’ll be able to unblock geo restricted content once you connect to these servers.

NordVPN Kill Switch & Ad Blocker

I find it a great VPN for streaming because all their servers are streaming optimized.

So you’ll be able to unblock various Netflix content libraries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Japanese libraries. Using their US based servers you’ll also be able to access Hulu and Amazon Prime without a problem.

If you want to access BBC iPlayer all you need to do is connect to the UK servers.

I also find it a great VPN for South Korea because, even though most VPNs will drop your speed significantly, my speed tests showed that you’ll be able to retain at least 80% of your original speeds with NordVPN.

For torrenting enthusiasts, you are in good hands.

NordVPN Split Tunnel & Double VPN

NordVPN actually supports torrenting on all their servers, but if you want the best experience, with no throttling on your speeds, you should first connect to their dedicated P2P servers when torrenting.

What’s more is that you also get an amazing Kill Switch that has both soft and hard modes for ensuring your real IP address never gets leaked online.

Lastly, with a NordVPN subscription, you’ll be able to secure up to 6 simultaneous devices. Now 6 devices is rather average but I find it sufficient for most people.

PROS
  • 5,600 servers
  • Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
  • Fast speeds
  • Torrenting allowed
  • Audited zero logs
  • Statics IPs
  • Dedicated IP
  • Kill Switch
  • Split tunneling
  • Works in China
  • Accepts Bitcoins
  • Ad blocker
  • FREE trial on PlayStore
CONS
  • No PayPal
  • Only 6 devices

2. Surfshark

Surfshark Home & Connection

Surfshark is a VPN service provider based in the Netherlands.

It enables you to access the internet securely and privately through their network of servers that span different continents across the globe.

However, the Netherlands is not a very privacy friendly location because it’s an official member of the 14 eyes surveillance alliance of countries. But armed with a strict no logs policy, and an independent audit by Deloitte that confirmed the absence of logs, you can rest assured you are safe, at least for now.

Check out my review of Surfshark to learn more about their other security features that I have not mentioned in this article.

Currently, Surfshark a total of 3,200 servers that are located in 100 different countries, making it one of the best VPNs for South Korea, because they also have actual servers in South Korea. These work great for unblocking local streaming platforms.

Surfshark Kill Switch & Ad Blocker

Speaking of streaming, Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for Netflix. Using their servers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and even Japan, you’ll be able to unblock the Netflix content libraries in these countries.

It also works exceptionally well at unblocking Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.

When it comes to torrenting, you couldn’t ask for more.

Torrenting copyrighted material can get you in trouble with the authorities in South Korea. Surfshark covers your ass by making all their servers torrenting optimized. You don’t need to connect to any specialized torrenting servers to download, any server will do.

Surfshark Split Tunnel & Antivirus

You also get an amazing hard mode kill switch that ensures that your real IP address never gets leaked online. This usually happens when your VPN app disconnects from the server.

And if you want to block those annoying ads, Surfshark has an inbuilt ad blocker called Clean Web that will block the advertising scripts from being installed on your browser.

You’ll be able to secure an unlimited number of devices with Surfshark.

PROS
  • 3,200 servers
  • Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
  • Fast speeds
  • Torrenting allowed
  • Audited zero logs
  • Static IPs
  • Kill switch
  • Split tunneling
  • Works in China
  • Accepts Bitcoins
  • Ad blocker
  • FREE trial
CONS
  • No dedicated IPs
  • Buggy Windows app

3. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN Home & Connect

ExpressVPN is a VPN service provider based in the British Virgin Islands. 

It enables you to access the internet securely and privately using their network of servers that are spread out in different countries across the globe.

In fact, they are one of the few VPNs that actually use RAM-only servers. So whenever the servers are restarted, all data on the server is erased, leaving no room for keeping user logs.

Check out my complete review of ExpressVPN here.

ExpressVPN also has a strict no logs policy whereby they don’t keep logs of your internet activities. In fact, a recent audit by KPMG confirmed that there were actually no logs on their servers that can be used to identify anybody.

ExpressVPN Kill Switch & Dashboard

It is one of the best VPNs for South Korea because they have actual servers in South Korea. 

Together with that is a collection of 3000 servers that are spread out in 100 different countries. This means that you’ll be able to unblock both local and international geo restricted content.

Does expressVPN support streaming?

Well, ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs for streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer. In fact, with their servers you’ll be able to unblock various Netflix content libraries including those in the UK, the US, Canada, and even Japan.

ExpressVPN also supports torrenting.

ExpressVPN Split Tunnel & Sign Out

All of their servers are optimized for P2P file sharing activities. So you don’t need to connect to any special servers in order to torrent, because any server will do.

So in order to ensure your IP address doesn’t get leaked online whenever your VPN app disconnects from the server, be sure to turn on their kill switch. ExpressVPN has a kill switch that works to block internet access for your entire device whenever the VPN app disconnects from the server. 

However, expressVPN only supports up to 5 simultaneously connected devices. I find this rather limiting because other VPNs usually allow more connected devices. 

PROS
  • 3,000 servers
  • Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
  • Fast speeds
  • Torrenting allowed
  • Audited zero logs
  • Kill switch
  • Split tunneling
  • Works in China
  • Accepts Bitcoins
CONS
  • Only 5 devices
  • No dedicated IPs
  • No ad blocker
  • No FREE trial
  • Expensive plans

4. CyberGhost

CyberGhost Home & Connect

CyberGhost is a VPN company with headquarters in Romania.

They provide secure access to the internet, while guaranteeing your privacy and anonymity through their huge collection of servers.

One of the features that make them stand out as the best VPNs for South Korea is the fact that they’ve upgraded all their servers to be RAM-only, which makes it hard to keep user activity logs.

Check out my updated review of CyberGhost here.

CyberGhost currently has a collection of 9,500 servers that are spread out in 91 different countries. While simply having a large number of servers in and of itself doesn’t mean crap, they’ve gone above and beyond to ensure their servers are exceptional.

CyberGhost Kill Switch & Ad Blocker

This is true especially when it comes to streaming.

It is one of the best VPNs for streaming that is able to unblock a huge number of streaming platforms both locally and internationally.

What’s even more interesting is that their streaming servers are labeled by the platform they are able to unblock, as well as the country. Their servers work with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, HBO GO, Sky Go and a few others.

If you are into torrenting you’ll also find CyberGhost a great option.

CyberGhost Split Tunnel

They have specialized servers that are dedicated for P2P file-sharing traffic. So if you want to remain anonymous when torrenting, first of all connect to the torrenting server before beginning your downloads.

Since they also have an inbuilt skill switch you want to ensure this is turned on in order to help you protect your real IP address from being leaked online, in the event that your VPN app disconnects from the server.

This is great if you don’t want to get in trouble should you be caught torrenting copyrighted material in South Korea.

CyberGhost will allow you to connect up to 7 devices at the same time.

PROS
  • 9,500 servers
  • Netfilx, Hulu, Amazon
  • Fast speeds
  • Torrenting allowed
  • Audited zero logs
  • Dedicated IP
  • Kill switch
  • Split tunneling
  • Accepts Bitcoins
  • Ad blocker
  • FREE trial
CONS
  • Blocked in China
  • Only 7 devices
  • App crashes

5. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN Home & Connect

PrivateVPN is a VPN service provider based in Sweden.

It provides secure and private access to the internet through their servers that support end-to-end encryption. They also have a no-logs policy whereby they don’t keep logs of your internet activities or your browsing history.

However the privacy policy has not yet been audited so they should definitely carry out an audit in order to clear out all doubts.

That being said, it has found its way into this list of the best VPNs for South Korea because it performs exceptionally well in a number of tests that I conducted when researching the best VPNs for this country.

Check out my complete review of PrivateVPN.

PrivateVPN Kill Switch & Dashboard

To begin with they only have 200 servers that are located in 63 different countries. 

The server count is nowhere close to what other premium VPN service providers do have, but they do a great job of spreading out their servers to cover a larger geographical region than their server count.

What’s more is that their servers are really optimized for streaming.

In fact, I’d say PrivateVPN is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer because their UK-based servers do an exceptional job of unblocking this popular streaming platform. 

Other platforms you’ll be able to unblock include Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu.

Torrenting is also a breeze on their servers.

PrivateVPN Configuration

They have dedicated P2P file-sharing servers. All you need to do is connect to the special torrenting servers before you launch your torrenting client in order to get the best experience in terms of download speeds and anonymity online.

PrivateVPN also has an inbuilt kill switch that will help you ensure your real IP address never gets leaked online. How this works is that whenever your VPN app disconnects from the server, internet access is halted for your entire device until the connection is re-established.

PrivateVPN supports up to 10 connected devices. 

PROS
  • Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
  • Fast speeds
  • Torrenting allowed
  • Static IPs
  • Kill switch
  • Works in China
  • Accepts Bitcoins
  • Up to 10 devices
  • Free 7 day trial
CONS
  • Only 200 servers
  • No ad blocker
  • No split tunnel
  • Not yet audited

ADDITIONAL VPNS WORTH CHECKING OUT


6. Hide.me

Hide.me is a VPN service provider based in Malaysia. Just like PrivateVPN, it’s really underrated. It provides secure access to the internet through their collection of 2,000 servers that are based in 47 different countries. Here’s a complete review of Hide.me. What’s more is that they were audited back in 2020, and their no-logs policy was confirmed.

7. AtlasVPN

AtlasVPN is a VPN service provider based in the United States. It provides secure access to the internet through their collection of 1,000 servers that are based in 42 different countries. Check out my complete review of AtlasVPN. Even though they’ve been audited, it was only about the Windows desktop app. There’s been no privacy policy audit.

8. IPVanish

IPVanish is a VPN service provider based in the United States. It provides secure access to the internet through military grade encryption technologies. Here’s a complete IPVanish review. They have a collection of 2,200 servers that are based in 75 different countries. So you’ll have a ton of options to choose from when looking for a server to connect to.

9. PureVPN

PureVPN is a VPN service provider based in Singapore. It enables you to access the internet securely through their collection of 6,500 servers that are based in 78 different countries. Here’s a complete PureVPN review. Just like IPVanish, they’ve also cooperated with the authorities before and handed over user logs, despite claiming to be no logs.

10. Private Internet Access

PIA is a VPN service provider based in the United States. PIA has a total of 35,000 servers that are located in 84 different countries. Here’s my review of PIA. While the total server count is great, they could spread them out further to cover more countries. They were audited back in 2022 and their no-logs policy was confirmed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I’ve listed the best VPNs for South Korea to suit the needs of different users. 

ExpressVPN is a good choice if you want the best in speed and reliability. 

NordVPN is a great service for streaming and is one of the most secure VPNs. Lastly, Surfshark is a great choice if you are on a budget and is packed with features. 

I hope I’ve helped you to find a suitable VPN for South Korea.

Have you used any of these VPNs before?

Please share your experience in the comments below.

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