The popular Apple iPhone finally hits the South Korean market on Saturday, November 28, via the country's second-ranking mobile carrier KT! Initially, three models of the iPhone will be sold by KT, and their price range will vary between $342 and 'free,' depending on which service plan the buyer chooses.

Going by a recent Wall Street Journal report, KT's iPhone-specific usage plans will cost between 45,000 won and 95,000 won, or approximately $40 and $80.

As compared to the launch-news hype the iPhone had witnessed in some of the other countries of the world, the response to the forthcoming iPhone availability in South Korea has been somewhat lukewarm.

The reason behind this is the people's preference for locally-made phones, predominantly those by Samsung and LG Electronics, who together have a more than 80 percent share of the domestic cellphone market.

However, sensing potential competition from the iPhone, more so with almost 40,000 people reportedly having placed pre-orders for the Apple device, Samsung has slashed the price of its foremost high-end phone Omnia2 - a touch-screen model similar to the iPhone.

Commenting on the iPhone availability in Korea, a Seoul-based filmmaker Chin Wonsuk, who has used the device, said: "A lot of people here, the Korean media, are very critical of iPhone. But no one has used it here before. They don't know what it can do."