How to Access Korean-Only Websites from Overseas Using AWS EC2 (Seoul Region VPN)

How to Access Korean-Only Websites from Overseas Using AWS EC2 (Seoul Region VPN)

Some Korean websites (government, financial, public institutions) block access from foreign IP addresses. This guide shows you how to create a quick VPN tunnel through AWS EC2 in Seoul to get a Korean IP address.

What you need: AWS account, AWS CLI installed, Terminal (macOS/Linux)

---

Step 1: Verify AWS CLI

Make sure AWS CLI is installed and configured:

aws --version
aws sts get-caller-identity --region ap-northeast-2

If you see your Account ID, you're good to go.

---

Step 2: Create a Key Pair

aws ec2 create-key-pair \
  --key-name kr-proxy-key \
  --region ap-northeast-2 \
  --query 'KeyMaterial' \
  --output text > ~/Desktop/kr-proxy-key.pem

chmod 400 ~/Desktop/kr-proxy-key.pem

---

Step 3: Create a Security Group

# Create security group
aws ec2 create-security-group \
  --group-name kr-proxy-sg \
  --description "SSH proxy for Korean IP access" \
  --region ap-northeast-2

# Allow SSH inbound (replace sg-xxxxx with your Group ID from above)
aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
  --group-id sg-xxxxx \
  --protocol tcp \
  --port 22 \
  --cidr 0.0.0.0/0 \
  --region ap-northeast-2

---

Step 4: Find the Latest AMI

aws ec2 describe-images \
  --owners amazon \
  --filters "Name=name,Values=al2023-ami-2023*-x86_64" "Name=state,Values=available" \
  --query 'Images | sort_by(@, &CreationDate) | [-1].ImageId' \
  --output text \
  --region ap-northeast-2

Note the AMI ID (e.g. ami-09a64de684ce1ac0e).

---

Step 5: Launch EC2 Instance

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id ami-09a64de684ce1ac0e \
  --instance-type t2.micro \
  --key-name kr-proxy-key \
  --security-group-ids sg-xxxxx \
  --associate-public-ip-address \
  --tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=kr-proxy}]' \
  --region ap-northeast-2 \
  --query 'Instances[0].InstanceId' \
  --output text

Note the Instance ID (e.g. i-0df42e446381ecc9a).

t2.micro is free-tier eligible (750 hours/month for 12 months).

---

Step 6: Get Public IP

Wait about 30 seconds, then:

aws ec2 describe-instances \
  --instance-ids i-xxxxx \
  --region ap-northeast-2 \
  --query 'Reservations[0].Instances[0].[State.Name, PublicIpAddress]' \
  --output text

You should see something like: running 13.125.x.x

---

Step 7: Open SSH SOCKS5 Tunnel

ssh -D 1080 -N -f \
  -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
  -i ~/Desktop/kr-proxy-key.pem \
  ec2-user@13.125.x.x

• -D 1080 — Creates a SOCKS5 proxy on local port 1080
• -N — No remote command (tunnel only)
• -f — Run in background

---

Step 8: Verify Korean IP

curl --socks5-hostname localhost:1080 https://ifconfig.me

If it returns your EC2's Korean IP (e.g. 13.125.x.x), it's working!

---

Step 9: Configure Browser Proxy

Option A: macOS System Settings

1. Open System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi
2. Click Details... → Proxies
3. Enable SOCKS Proxy
4. Server: localhost / Port: 1080
5. Click OK

Option B: Terminal (macOS)

sudo networksetup -setsocksfirewallproxy "Wi-Fi" localhost 1080
sudo networksetup -setsocksfirewallproxystate "Wi-Fi" on

Option C: curl only

curl --socks5-hostname localhost:1080 https://www.target-website.kr

Now open your browser and access the Korean website!

---

Clean Up (Important!)

When you're done, clean up everything to avoid charges:

1. Close the SSH Tunnel

pkill -f "ssh -D 1080"

2. Turn Off Browser Proxy

macOS GUI: System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Details → Proxies → SOCKS Proxy OFF

Terminal:

sudo networksetup -setsocksfirewallproxystate "Wi-Fi" off

# Verify
networksetup -getsocksfirewallproxy "Wi-Fi"
# Should show: Enabled: No

3. Terminate EC2 Instance

aws ec2 terminate-instances \
  --instance-ids i-xxxxx \
  --region ap-northeast-2

4. Delete Security Group

Wait about 30 seconds after termination, then:

aws ec2 delete-security-group \
  --group-id sg-xxxxx \
  --region ap-northeast-2

5. Delete Key Pair

aws ec2 delete-key-pair \
  --key-name kr-proxy-key \
  --region ap-northeast-2

rm ~/Desktop/kr-proxy-key.pem

---

Cost Summary

Item	Cost
t2.micro (free tier)	Free (750 hrs/month, 12 months)
t2.micro (after free tier)	~$0.0116/hr (~$8.5/month)
Data transfer	Free up to 100GB/month

Tip: If you want to keep the instance for later, Stop it instead of terminating. You only pay for EBS storage (~$0.10/GB/month) while stopped.

---

Quick Reference: Reconnect Later

If you stopped (not terminated) the instance:

# Start the instance
aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-xxxxx --region ap-northeast-2

# Wait ~30 seconds, get new public IP
aws ec2 describe-instances \
  --instance-ids i-xxxxx \
  --region ap-northeast-2 \
  --query 'Reservations[0].Instances[0].PublicIpAddress' \
  --output text

# Open tunnel
ssh -D 1080 -N -f -i ~/Desktop/kr-proxy-key.pem ec2-user@NEW-IP

# Set proxy
sudo networksetup -setsocksfirewallproxy "Wi-Fi" localhost 1080
sudo networksetup -setsocksfirewallproxystate "Wi-Fi" on