Korean slang profile

폰테크

phone tech

Making money from phone resale

Buying a phone cheaply through subsidies or similar offers and reselling it for more to keep the difference.

This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.

01Examples, with English translations

Example by Julimmal
폰테크로 용돈 번다는 사람도 있더라.
Some people apparently make extra money reselling phones.
Quoted from a source
폰테크란 각종 부가 조건과 함께 단말기를 싸게 구입한 후, 중고 시장에 더 비싼 값에 내다 팔아 차액을 챙기는 사람을 일컫는다.[1]
폰테크 refers to a person who purchases a terminal at a low price with various additional conditions, then sells it at a higher price on the used market and pockets the difference.
English translation by Julimmal.

March 2012폰테크 refers to a person who purchases a terminal at a low price with various additional conditions, then sells it at a higher price on the used market and pockets the difference.[1]
September 2013Electronic Newspaper: “폰테크 is a compound word of mobile phone and financial technology.”[2]

Formed from “휴대폰 + 재테크.” The 2012 source from Electronic Times explicitly gives this explanation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.

Evidence for the origin explanationHigh

The explanation is explicit in the sources, and at least two sources use the same meaning. When it was first used is unknown.

Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.