Korea has tightened its border quarantine substantially in response to African Swine Fever and other animal diseases. Travellers carrying meat products are the route these diseases travel, and the rules are enforced on arrival.
The penalty
Travellers who fail to make a quarantine declaration may be fined up to KRW 5 million under the Contagious Animal Diseases Prevention Act. The fine applies to the failure to declare, not only to items that turn out to be prohibited.
What you must declare
- Meat and meat products of any kind — including cured, dried and canned
- Dairy products and eggs
- Fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts
- Plants, soil, and items with soil on them
- Live animals, and anything used around animals
Things travellers assume are fine, and are not
- Sausage or jerky bought at the airport you departed from
- Home-made food packed by family
- Dried meat in instant noodle packets
- Fruit taken from the plane
The rule that keeps you safe
Declaring costs nothing. If the item is permitted you keep it; if it is not, it is disposed of and that is the end of it. The fine is for not declaring, so there is no situation in which staying quiet is the better option.
Source: Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency — Rules for overseas travellers
More about K-ETA
After you land
K-ETA gets you on the plane. What comes after — arrival card, e-gates, cash, tax refunds, transport, healthcare, emergencies — checked with official sources.
Bringing medicines
Ordinary medicines: up to 6 bottles or 3 months' supply. ADHD drugs, codeine, sleeping pills and other controlled medicines need approval first.
Customs allowances
The general allowance is US$800, with separate limits for alcohol, tobacco and perfume. Travellers under 19 do not get the alcohol and tobacco exemptions.
If you are exempt
Many nationalities do not currently need a K-ETA at all. Applying anyway costs money and gives you nothing. Here is how to check, and what still applies.
Transit
Whether a K-ETA applies to a transit depends on whether you pass immigration. Staying airside and entering the country are treated differently.
After the exemption
Many nationalities are temporarily exempt from the K-ETA until 31 December 2026. What that means for trips planned around that date.