OPDADA · Korea Guide

Korea Trip Prep Checklist: What to Sort Before You Fly

Work down it in order - entry paperwork first, then power, data, money, customs and the numbers to save.

Each item here gets settled before you board. Work down it in order: the top items carry deadlines, the bottom ones take five minutes. Where a topic has its own page here, you get the decision and the link.

The timeline

WhenWhat you do
4-8 weeks outCheck passport expiry and whether you need a K-ETA. Book flights and the first two nights.
2-4 weeks outApply for the K-ETA. Buy insurance. Choose SIM, eSIM or Wi-Fi egg. Check your medicines.
1 week outTell your card issuer. Install the eSIM and apps.
3 days outSubmit the e-Arrival Card if required; the window opens now.
Night beforeWeigh the bags. Take food and plants out.

1. Passport, K-ETA and the arrival card

The Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) covers visa-free entry to the Republic of Korea. The fee is 10,000 KRW (approximately USD 7-8, online payment fee charged separately) and non-refundable; assessment "typically takes 72 hour or less", longer when applications spike. An approval lasts 3 years, or until your passport expires if sooner, and covers multiple entries. You must have it before boarding, and it exempts you from the arrival card. Apply only at k-eta.go.kr or the official app; the site states those are the only channels.

The temporary exemption runs on a yearly cycle. Korea has been suspending the requirement for certain visa-free countries and regions one year at a time. Korean diplomatic missions announced the current extension as running from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 (KST), covering the countries already exempt. That decision is retaken each cycle, so scan your own passport page at k-eta.go.kr rather than trusting last year's advice. Exempt travellers may still apply and pay, which buys the arrival-card exemption.

The e-Arrival Card is Korea's electronic entry declaration: "no fee required", submitted from three days before arrival. Those required to submit it include visa holders, people covered by the K-ETA exemption, UN passport holders and APEC business travel card holders; those excluded include Korean nationals, residence card holders and K-ETA holders.

2. Power: 220 volts, two round holes

The Korea Tourism Organization states: "The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts at 60 Hertz, and the outlet has two round holes." Adapters call that shape Type C or Type F. Check the shape, which an adapter fixes, and the voltage, which it does not: a charger marked 100-240V runs on 220V, one marked 110V only will not. Adapters are sold at the airport, retail stores, major duty-free shops and convenience stores.

3. Getting online: SIM, eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi

4. Cards, cash and refusing home-currency billing

Plan a mix: cards for most spending, plus Korean won in cash for places that will not take a foreign card (/guide/money-and-payments). Before you fly, tell your card issuer where you are going and note its lost-card number outside your phone.

Refuse dynamic currency conversion (DCC). When a terminal or an online checkout offers to bill you in your home currency instead of Korean won, choose Korean won.

On cash, Korea Customs is precise: "if you enter the country with foreign currency, KRW notes, or checks above USD 10,000 or the equivalent in total, you must report it to the Customs." The same threshold applies on the way out.

5. What must not go into the bag

Quarantine: animal and plant products

Incheon Airport requires you to declare meat, "Processed meat products (ham, sausage, jerky, canned stew, canned meat, etc.)", egg and dairy products, live pets, "All plant products" and "All fresh fruits and fruit-bearing vegetables". Fines are imposed for bringing animals or livestock products in without quarantine, and for plants imported without inspection. What catches travellers is small: a stick of jerky, fruit left in the seat pocket.

Customs: prohibited and restricted

Korea Customs lists as prohibited: "Sexually inappropriate materials, and forged/falsified/counterfeit currency, bond, and other marketable securities". Restricted: "Firearms, Narcotics; animals and plants stipulated in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and their products".

Medicines need their own check

Korea Customs warns about medicines containing narcotic ingredients - codeine, oxycodone, methylphenidate, dextromethorphan, alprazolam and zolpidem among them - which turn up in cold remedies (Dayquil and NyQuil among its examples), sleeping pills and diet pills. Bringing one in for self-treatment needs approval from the Minister of Food and Drug Safety at nedrug.mfds.go.kr. The penalties Customs cites are severe: for codeine, oxycodone and morphine ingredients, life imprisonment or imprisonment of five years or more; for dextromethorphan and alprazolam, up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million KRW. That is a summary and not legal advice - check your own medicines with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety or a Korean diplomatic mission before you fly. Read the ingredients weeks ahead.

Duty-free allowances

CategoryAllowance
Goods in generalCombined dutiable value of US$800 or less
AlcoholTotal volume 2 L or less and total price US$400 or less
Cigarettes200 filtered sticks; e-cigarette nicotine liquid 20 ml, under 1% nicotine
Perfume100 ml

Under-19s, counted by year of birth, get no alcohol or tobacco allowance; declaring goods over the limit voluntarily earns a partial reduction on the duty, subject to a ceiling, so check the current terms with Korea Customs before you count on it.

6. Weight, liquids, batteries

Weigh the bags at home: limits differ by airline and fare. The Korea Tourism Organization's restricted-items list gives "100 ml or less" for dangerous liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on and notes "Up to five spare batteries with a capacity of 100Wh or less are permitted".

7. Clothes, apps, insurance

A February arrival and an August arrival need different suitcases; the season list is at /guide/seasons-and-packing. Two things catch visitors out: you will take your shoes off indoors more often than you expect (/guide/korea-etiquette), and you will walk further than planned (/guide/getting-around).

Install before you leave: a map app that handles Korean addresses and public transport, a taxi app, an offline translation app, and your bank's app with a login that does not need an SMS to your home number. Which ones residents use: /guide/korean-apps.

Buy travel insurance before departure. Read what it pays towards medical treatment abroad, then ask whether it pays the hospital directly or you pay first and claim later.

8. Numbers to save before you fly

NumberWhat it is for
112Police
119Fire, ambulance and medical emergencies
1330Korea Travel Helpline: tourist information, interpretation and complaints, by phone or chat. +82-2-1330 from overseas
1345Immigration Contact Center. 1345 in Korea, +82-1345 from abroad, 09:00 to 22:00 on weekdays

Add your embassy, your insurer's assistance line and your card's lost-card line. What to do when something goes wrong: /guide/emergency-numbers-safety

The night before

After you land: /guide/first-week-in-korea.

FAQ

Q. Do I need a K-ETA to visit South Korea?
If you are entering visa-free you normally need K-ETA approval before boarding, but Korea has been suspending the requirement for certain countries and regions one year at a time. Korean diplomatic missions announced the current extension as running from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 (KST), covering the countries already exempt. The decision is retaken each cycle, so check k-eta.go.kr with your own passport before you book.

Q. How much does a K-ETA cost and how long does it take?
The fee is 10,000 KRW (approximately USD 7-8, with the online payment fee charged separately) and it is non-refundable. Assessment "typically takes 72 hour or less", though it can run longer when applications spike. An approval lasts 3 years, or until your passport expires if that comes sooner, and covers multiple entries.

Q. Do I have to submit the e-Arrival Card?
It costs nothing and can be submitted from three days before arrival. Those required to submit it include Republic of Korea visa holders, people covered by the K-ETA exemption, UN passport holders and APEC business travel card holders. Korean nationals, foreign residence registration card holders, K-ETA holders and group visa holders are among those excluded.

Q. What plug adapter do I need for Korea?
The Korea Tourism Organization states that "The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts at 60 Hertz, and the outlet has two round holes" - the shape adapters label Type C or Type F. An adapter changes shape, not voltage, so check that your charger is marked 100-240V. Adapters are sold at the airport, retail stores, major duty-free shops and convenience stores.

Q. Can I bring meat, snacks or fruit into Korea?
Incheon Airport requires arriving travellers to declare meat, "Processed meat products (ham, sausage, jerky, canned stew, canned meat, etc.)", egg and dairy products, live pets, "All plant products" and "All fresh fruits and fruit-bearing vegetables". Fines are imposed for bringing animals or livestock products in without quarantine. The simplest plan is to leave them at home.

Q. How much cash can I bring into Korea without declaring it?
The Korea Customs Service states that "if you enter the country with foreign currency, KRW notes, or checks above USD 10,000 or the equivalent in total, you must report it to the Customs." The same USD 10,000 threshold applies when you leave.

Sources

Written and maintained by OPDADA · Last checked 2026-08-23 · Spotted an error? Let us know. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, prices and schedules change — confirm with the official source before you act.