Customs Clearance at Incheon Airport: A Practical Guide for International Travelers

Before traveling to Korea, you may be wondering about the customs policy for international passengers who visit Korea. You want to make sure that you won’t bring prohibited items into the country. If you’re under medication, there could be some concern on whether it’s safe to bring the prescription medicine into Korea. When you plan to shop for duty free items before departing for Korea, you may be interested in knowing the limits for duty free items that can be brought into Korea without the obligation to declare. In this article, we summarize the customs policy for international travelers arriving in Korea and how the customs inspection is conducted at Incheon Airport. Even though customs clearance at Incheon Airport nowadays is simple, this article will help you better understand the procedure and smoothen your arrival experience.

Korea’s Voluntary Customs Declaration Policy for Arriving Travelers

On May 1, 2023, South Korea began to implement voluntary customs declaration policy. Prior to the date, every visitor arriving in Korea had to fill paper customs declaration form and submit the completed form to a customs officer in the customs inspection area. From May 1, 2023 onwards, customs declaration became voluntary. Only visitors with goods to declare need to fill out the customs declaration form.

The policy change also affected how customs declaration forms were distributed. If you travel to Korea somewhat frequently, you may have experienced that paper customs declaration forms are not distributed by the flight attendants during the flight. To obtain the form, you may need to directly request to the flight attendant.

Korea Customs Declaration Form

Since the customs declaration form has turned into a scarce item in a Korea-bound flight, you may be curious about how the form looks like, especially if it’s your first visit to Korea. We captured both sides of the paper customs declaration form, added labels to the input fields, and explained the information that should be provided to help you complete the form more easily.

The image below shows the front-side of Korea’s paper customs declaration form, with labels added to better identify the input fields.

The labels on the front side of the form are explained as follows.

Label No.	Field Description
1	Traveler’s full name as shown in passport
2	Birth date (year) in YYYY format
3	Birth date (month) in MM format
4	Birth date (day) in DD format
5	Passport number
6	Length of stay in days in Korea
7	Country of embarkation
8	Number of accompanying family members
9	Airline / flight number
10	Phone number (international or Korean number)
11	Address in Korea
12	Declaration of duty-free items brought into Korea
13	Declaration of goods brought into Korea from Korea’s partner country to receive preferential tariff treatment
14	Declaration of monetary instrument that exceeds USD 10,000
15	Declaration of prohibited or strictly controlled items brought into Korea
16	Declaration of animals and/or plants and others that are subject to quarantine requirements
17	Declaration of items that require permissions or special authorization from the customs authority
18	Form submission date (year) in YYYY format
19	Form submission date (month) in MM format
20	Form submission date (day) in DD format
21	Traveler’s name
22	Traveler’s signature

For the back side, refer to the image below as a reference. A label has also been added to the image. As can be seen in the image, the back side contains an input table to be filled up with the list of duty free items that exceeds the allowed quantity or value to be brought into Korea.

Besides the paper-based customs declaration form, there is also a digital version of the customs declaration form provided as a mobile app that can be used by travelers for clearing Korean customs. The official app name is “Korea Customs Declaration for Travelers” and it’s authored by Korea Customs Service. The app is released for Android and iOS users. If you want to use the app, you can download it from the official Google Play page for the Android version or App Store for the iOS version.

Prohibited Items To Be Brought into Korea

In this section, we summarize the list of items that are prohibited to brought into Korea. This list can also be found on the customs declaration form and the Korea Customs Service web page about the customs clearance procedure.

1. Firearms, live ammunition, knives, swords, other blades, drugs, radioactive substances, etc
2. Counterfeit currency, counterfeit goods, etc
3. Obscene material, North Korea propaganda, wiretapping instruments, etc
4. Endangered wildlife (parrots, lizards, monkeys, orchids, etc) or related products (bear gallbladder/bile, musk, crocodile leather, etc)

A special note about drugs, there are 478 substances that are categorized as drugs and prohibited to be brought into Korea. For a quick reference, here are examples of notable substances that are prohibited under South Korean law:

• Methamphetamine
• Opium
• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Cannabis / marijuana
• Cannabis resin / hashish
• MDMA / ecstasy
• Ketamine

It is important that you are aware of and comply with the regulation about prohibited items. Non-compliance may result in serious legal consequence. For example, drug-related offenses can result in hefty fines and even imprisonment under South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act.

Duty Free Items Limit / Allowance

If you shop at duty free stores before departing for Korea or purchase duty free items during your flight to Korea, it is necessary to understand the duty free allowance for travelers entering Korea. You can find the details of duty free items allowance on the back side of the customs declaration form.

In the following table, you can see the summary of the duty free items allowance for international travelers arriving in Korea.

Item	Duty Free Allowance
General goods	USD 800 in value. Agricultural, forestry, livestock, fishery products in the mix should not exceed 5kg each and 40 kg in total, and the purchase value is not more than KRW 100,000. Quarantine requirements apply to the agricultural / forestry / livestock / fishery products.
Alcohol / liquor	USD 400 in value. Maximum 2 bottles with volume up to 2 liters.
Tobacco	200 cigaretes or 50 cigars or 20 ml liquid nicotine / e-liquid with nicotine percentage not more than 1%
Perfume	100 ml

The allowance for each item in the table above is applied separately. In other words, you have separate allowance for general goods (USD 800), alcohol / liquor (USD 400 / 2 bottles / 2 liters), tobacco (200 cigarettes), and perfume (100 ml).

Banknotes and Monetary Instruments

When traveling to Korea, you can bring up to USD 10,000 in cash and other forms of monetary instruments, such as coins, checks, stocks, or bonds, without declaring them to customs. If the combined amount exceeds USD 10,000, customs declaration is required.

After declaring your monetary instruments, you will receive the Certificate of Foreign Currency Declaration. Make sure that you obtain the certificate before proceeding to the public area of the airport as the certificate cannot be issued after you leave the customs area. Failure to declare possession of monetary instruments above the threshold may result in fine of up to 100 million won or up to 1 year of imprisonment.

How to Bring Prescription Medicine into Korea

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) Korea regulates certain prescription drugs and controls how prescription medicine can be brought into Korea. Some drugs that are allowed outside of Korea can be considered illegal under South Korean law. If you’re currently taking prescription medicine, it is advised that you check whether you can bring your prescription medicine into Korea before your trip.

The medications listed below can be prescribed by doctors in countries such as the United States but are classified as controlled substances under South Korean law:

• Opiate drugs: Hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, fentanyl, etc
• Amphethamine drugs: Adderall, dexedrine, etc
• Benzodiazepine drugs: Xanax, valium, klonopin, etc

To bring your prescription medication that contains any of the controlled substances to Korea, you need to get approval from MFDS. The approval must be obtained before you arrive in Korea.

The procedure to get the approval is as follows:

1. Create a new account at the MFDS Nedrug portal.
2. Login with the newly created account, using email and password.
3. Create a new application to bring controlled substances for personal medication into Korea.
4. Wait for the application approval.

After obtaining the approval from MFDS, you can bring your prescription medication along on your trip to Korea.

Customs Inspection Area at Incheon Airport

In the past, when you passed through customs at Incheon Airport, you would have to submit the completed customs declaration form to the customs officer. However, since the introduction of the voluntary customs declaration, the procedure has changed. The customs clearance process for arriving travelers has now become more efficient and straightforward.

The customs clearance area is located between the baggage claim area and the exit gate to the public arrival area (the arrival hall). After you collect your luggage, you will have to walk through the customs clearance area. You choose one of the available lanes: green lane or pink lane. The green lane is for passengers who have nothing to declare. Most passengers will choose and walk through this lane. Alternatively, the pink lane is for passengers with goods to declare.

There are ample signs that guide you to walk in the right lane. As an example, the picture shows the overhead signs that direct the arriving visitors towards the green and pink lanes. Direction signs are also put on the floor, helping visitors navigate the area with ease.

If you have goods to declare but haven’t filled out customs declaration form when collecting your checked luggage, you can try to locate the customs declaration desk next to the customs inspection . The empty customs declaration forms are available on the desk. You can fill out the form there before taking to the pink lane to proceed with the customs declaration.

If you declare, make sure that you bring all necessary document so that the process can be completed in a timely manner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it required to fill out customs declaration form when arriving in Korea?
A: When arriving in Korea, customs declaration is voluntary. You only need to fill out the customs declaration form when you have goods to declare.

Q: What’s the maximum amount of cash that I can bring to Korea without having to declare?
A: You can bring cash and other monetary instrument combined with amount up to USD 10,000 without the obligation to declare upon your arrival in Korea.

Q: I plan to buy some liquor at the duty free shops before flying to Korea. How many bottles of liquor can I bring into Korea that’s still within the duty-free limit?
A: You can bring up to two bottles of liquor, with total volume not more than two liters. The total purchase value must also not exceed USD 400.

Q: I plan to buy some cigarettes at the duty free shops while waiting for boarding on my flight to Korea. How many packs of cigarettes can I bring to Korea that’s still within the duty-free allowance?
A: You can bring up to 200 cigarettes to Korea without the obligation to declare. This usually translates into 10 packs of cigarettes with 20 cigarettes in each pack.

Q: I was prescribed Xanax by my doctor. I have an upcoming trip to Korea. Can I bring the prescribed medication with me?
A: Xanax is one of benzodiazepine drugs that are controlled substances in South Korea. You need to obtain advance approval from MFDS before you can bring the medication with you on your trip to Korea.

Q: I have been prescribed Sertraline by my doctor to treat my depression disorder. Can I bring the prescribed medication with me to Korea?
A: Sertraline is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant that is a controlled substance in South Korea. To bring the medication with you to Korea, you have to obtain an advance approval from MFDS. You can apply for the approval on the MFDS Nedrug portal.