Moving from US to South Korea, what surge protectors can I buy?
In September I'm moving from the US to South Korea. South Korea uses 220V/60Hz power and the continental European C/E/F-style plugs. As part of my budgeting process, I'm working on determining what electrical equipment I need to buy. For my devices which are rated only for 120V, the decision is easy - I will buy a step-down transformer and connect my US-bought surge protector to it, then connect the 120V devices through the surge protector as needed.
But for the devices which are rated for 120-240V, I'm having a harder time figuring out what to do. I want to limit the use of the step-down transformer since it'll be expensive and I want to maximize its life, so I want to connect these devices directly to Korea's 220V outlets. I know I can do this by either changing the plugs or using simple adapters, but I still need surge protection for these devices, and I'm having a hard time finding any surge protectors on Korea's major online shopping sites. I don't speak Korean perfectly yet, so I could be wrong, but it seems like all of their "safety" power strips actually just have a circuit breaker and not a surge protector. (Specifically, they say they will interrupt the power if the current is too high, which sounds to me like the description of a circuit breaker and not a surge protector.)
Would it be better to buy one of these circuit breaker power strips in Korea and hope for the best surge-wise, or would it be better to find a way to order a surge protector intended for use in continental Europe?
Continental Europe's power matches Korea's in every way except that Korea uses 60Hz and Europe uses 50Hz.
Does that matter in a surge protector?
Best Answer
I would suggest finding a few models that meet your specifications on EU sites and then searching for those exact models from Korean retailers. Those sold in Europe will mostly come from SE Asia anyway.
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What electrical Adaptor do I need for South Korea?
South Korea uses two types of plugs, Plug Type C (Europlug) and Plug Type F (German Schuko). These types of plugs have two round pins that are placed 19mm apart from each other. The pins fit into two 4.0mm to 4.8mm round holes.What type of surge protector do I need?
Choose a surge protector with a joule rating at the very least in the 200 to 400 range. Sensitive or costly equipment, such as computers, displays and audio/video equipment, warrants a joule rating of at least 1000. A joule rating over 2000 indicates maximum protection.Can you plug a surge protector into an international adapter?
Yes it is safe, a travel adapter is simply a plug and socket built into one piece. Any current the power strip can handle up to circuit breaker tripping can be handled by the adapter.Is there a difference in surge protectors?
Surge protectors offer protection in units called joules. Generally, the more joules the better, as this means the device can handle one large surge, or multiple smaller surges, before your gear is in danger. Over time, the parts inside the protector wear down, reducing its effectiveness.MOVING TO SOUTH KOREA: military PCS, pack with us, California to Korea✈️🇰🇷
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