🇰🇷 Shipping to South Korea from the USA

Shipping Rates to South Korea

Reference list-price estimates before fuel and demand surcharges, duties and taxes, not quotes. Rows are derived from the Japan lane as a nearest reference, not separately published prices for South Korea.

How long shipping to South Korea takes

Incheon is a major cargo hub, so express shipments usually reach Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi in 2 to 4 business days. Busan, Daegu and Daejeon may take a day longer, and Jeju adds another for the ferry or flight. After customs, couriers commonly hand parcels to domestic companies such as CJ Logistics, Hanjin or Lotte. USPS mail goes to Korea Post: Priority Mail International normally takes 6 to 10 days. Lunar New Year and Chuseok slow things down, and Black Friday volume delays many US orders in late November and December.

What Korean customs charges

A January 2026 Korea Customs Service notice on the Korea.kr policy site confirms the limits. The Korea Customs Service site has more detail.

• Limit: US$150 for goods for personal use, or US$200 for purchases from the United States.
• What counts: item price including foreign taxes and domestic shipping in the sending country. International freight can be left out if it is clearly separated.
• No deduction: over the limit, the whole value including shipping and insurance is taxed.
• Consolidation: items bought on one day or shipped together can be added up, so a forwarder merging parcels can push a total over US$200.
• List clearance: many low-value items move through simplified clearance, but excluded categories need a normal entry.

Example: a US$250 order from a US store with US$20 of shipping and an 8% duty rate. Duty about US$21.60, VAT 10% of US$291.60 = US$29.16, total about US$51 before fees. See duties and taxes. We did not find a separate higher allowance for gifts, so use the same limits.

The Personal Customs Clearance Code

Individuals importing goods use a code beginning with P, issued by the Korea Customs Service through its UNI-PASS site. Sellers and couriers ask for it at checkout or before release. The name and mobile number on the shipment must match the code holder, or clearance can stall. Reports in 2026 describe new expiry rules for the code, so a recipient should check theirs is still active. Foreign residents can get one with an alien registration number.

Tips for South Korea

• USPS serves south of the 38th parallel only. Use "Republic of Korea" on the label. There is no postal path to North Korea.
• Add Korean address text: the road-name address in Hangul helps the local driver. Add the five-digit postcode.
• Mobile number is expected: Korea Post warns that parcels without one can be delayed.
• Watch stacked orders: two US orders arriving on one day may be assessed together.
• Keep the seller's receipt: it supports the value if customs asks.

From elsewhere?

From Japan or China, express can arrive in 1 to 3 days, and the US$150 limit applies. From Europe, plan on 3 to 6 days by express. US$200 is specific to purchases from the US, so a US address on a parcel made elsewhere still needs checking with the carrier. Try the estimator above for your lane.