Samsung Galaxy S3 — S. Korean Galaxy S3

Hi all.
I am a complete noob regarding all this so please forgive my ignorance of all things android....
I have been offered a Samsung Galaxy S3 at a very attractive price by a friend who bought it but can't get on with it.
The only thing is, it is a Korean version. It's no problem to change the language but is it possible to wipe the fw and install european fw?
I believe that as a Korean telecoms icon appears on start up that it's not possible for it to update automatically.
I have been told that it's not possible to alter these Korean phones but I'm not sure if that's correct or not.
Any help and advice would be gratefully received before I make the purchase.
Thanks in advance.

Is the device locked to a carrier?

Normally unlocking and installing firmware from another country is no problem on Samsung devices.

I don't think it's locked to a carrier as I have typed *#1234# and everything comes up as 'off' so that neabs unlocked I take it?
The model number though is SHW-M440S so I'm concerned about trying to install a firmware for I9300 model in case it all goes wrong and I'm left with a useless phone.
I connected to Kies and it stated that there was an updated FW available but it is the Korean version again.
I don't understand anything about ROM's and Kernels so I'm unsure whether to give it a go or not. I updtaed the FW on my old Samsung Tocco with no problems but this is a completely different (and more expensive) animal!
I was hoping someone on here had already had the same issues and could advise before I do something I will regret.

I must admit that rooting this phone is....VERY VERY EASY.

I made a step by step tutorial if you want to give it a shot. You can find it here:

http://www.androidpit.com/root-samsung-galaxy-s3

Thank you.
Do you think that I will need to root it before installing the new firmware?
What would happen if I just went ahead and installed the I9300 firmware on the phone as it is right now?

Hi There,

Just curious, did you manage to successfully root your Korean Samsung Galaxy S3 phone? I'm asking because I soon will have to do the same. Though mine will be the LTE version. Please let me know if it worked out OK and if there were any problems.

Hi, I never actually tried it.
I just use the phone in its standard form and it's fine.
The only issues I sometimes have are that I can't remove the Korean Apps and the sms is limited to 40 characters.
If you have a go at yours though I'd be interested to hear how you get on, thanks.

If you are an owner of Galaxy S3 GT-I9305 and have already updated your device to the latest firmware version, you may want to root it to gain full control over the phone. Below is an easy-to-follow step by step tutorial to help you perform a root on your International Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

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