Apple announces that iPhone 5 hits Korea and 50 additional markets in December

Apple has just announced via a media release that the iPhone 5 will launch in South Korea this Friday, December 7, with 50 additional markets to follow later this month. Next week, the iPhone 5 will go on sale in Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

The third wave of the global expansion will follow a week later, December 21, and will include Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam…

Apple writes in the press release:

Apple today announced iPhone 5 will be available in South Korea on Friday, December 7, with more than 50 additional countries being added in December, including Brazil, Russia and Taiwan.

We reported this morning that the online Apple Store in New Zealand and Australia are now mentioning 2-4 business days for online iPhone 5 orders. We’re expecting other international stores and the US one, which still quotes a one-week delivery estimate, to update shipping times to 2-4 days later today.

As for Russia, Apple is apparently slated to launch the Russian iTunes music service tomorrow, ahead of Friday’s iPhone 5 launch in the country.

Now, the latest iteration of the popular handset which launched September 21 is currently available in 47 markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and more.

The company at the September 12 unveiling publicly stated plans to roll out the device in a hundred markets across 240 carriers before year ends.

With more than 50 additional countries adding up to the existing 47 markets where the iPhone 5 is being sold currently, the iPhone maker looks set to achieve its self-imposed goal.

If you live in any of the aforementioned countries, will you be getting an iPhone 5 when it hits your market?