Temporary Importation of your motorcycle into Incheon airport, South Korea
you have two choices: use a broker or do it yourself.

Broker:
Before you arrive send copies of your your registration, international license and passport to wendychoi2@gmail.com and have her do the temporary customs clearance for US$100. (plus insurance)

Yourself:
you will need proof of (Korean) insurance, temporary import bond, and paper work.

i was given this address for motorcycle insurance <samsungfire.com> before you arrive send an email to Jinhee (Carrie) Park (siberiainlove@yahoo.com), she will sell you Korean insurance for as long (or short) as you need, it is possible to buy just two days if you want. she will send you a copy of your policy through your email.

there is a computer (with internet & printer) in the customs office should you need to use it.

before you head to the customs office, ensure that you have your way bill papers (photo copy is sufficient) insurance policy (photo copy/ email print out is sufficient), international drivers license, registration, and passport.

the customs office is located on B1 in the main passenger building of the international passenger building. level 3 is departures, level 2 offices, level 1 arrivals, level B1 parking and restaurants. look for the signs "Customs Baggage Clearance", the office is on the far right side of the building on B1 level, directly bellow aisle A on level 3. you see double doors and a corridor, head straight, then there is a corridor to the right, turn right, half way down, the customs office is on the left, head on in. office is open on sunday, but nothing will get done until monday, office opens at 9am. ask for Mrs. Shin, she has helped me, and Doggle, she knows what needs to happen. her desk is hidden behind the little wall on the left of the customs office, she doesnt deal with the importation part, but will assist you through the process.
customs will try and tell you (insist) that you need a broker, they insisted at least three times, i said that i will do it myself, eventually they stopped asking.

first is insurance: inform Mrs. Shin that you have your korean insurance print out/ policy, and your passport, international license, registration.

next is bond: she tried to tell me that i need to put a deposit of W1,620,000, to which i declined, and said that its possible to buy import bond (or something like that) for around US$200. if you had a korean bank account, it is possible to get all your money back, but that was more time and effort then i care to do. i ended up paying W160,000 to the non customs official in the office, i didnt get a receipt, but i was happy not to ask for one.

last is paper work: the customs do all the paper work, they tell you to go for lunch for about an hour. i got the feeling that they didnt want to do the paper work, hence insisting that i get a broker.

i arrived at 9am, and was finished by 2pm (getting insurance cost me over 2hrs)

when everything is finished at the customs office, you have all your papers and are ready to leave, take the elevator to level 3 (departures), outside door "3" is a free shuttle bus to the cargo buildings. there are three cargo buildings A, B, and C. make sure you know where you are going. my bike arrived with korean air, which is cargo building A. Mrs. Shin escorted me to the bus stop, and told the driver where i wanted to go (she really is HUGE help).

the first smaller building was nothing, the larger cargo building behind is where you want to go, inside the office part first, long row of desks.. there was a young guy who spoke decent english that escorted me over to the cargo admin office to pay some fees and receive my bike. i paid W61,270 and they gave me my bike. ensure that they return your original import form issued from the customs office.

IMPORTANT: the last ferry to leave the island is 6:30pm..... if you miss it. go to a police station, and see if they will assist you in finding a truck to put your bike in to get you over the bridge, cost you around W50,000

the length of your temporary importation will be based on how many days your temporary insurance is.


which option is better?
as with everything in life, you need to decide which you have more of, time, money, or effort.

as you can see, i choose to do it myself, but with the ferry leaving tuesday morning for zarubino, there were a few moments that i was wondering if i made the right choice....

(i have no connection to the Jinhee (Carrie) Park or Mrs. Shin, only that i dealt with them while i was temporary importing my motorcycle. i have since asked both of them for permission to pass on their names and or contact details for others that might need their help)

Thanks for the infos Edd !

Maybe I missed it but where is it, what city ?

Incheon International Airport. Seoul.
Pain in the butt to get the bike onto a local road, since you are not allowed on a toll highway.

Hi folks,

I live in Japan and I'm considering going to Korea with my motorcycle for about 5 days of touring.

I spoke to someone at Kampu Ferry, and she told me that all I need to come over with my bike on the ferry from Shimonoseki to Busan is my basic documents, faxed to the ferry co. in advance:

--Bike documentation (shakensho and torokushosho)

--Japanese driving license

-- International driving permit

-- Passport

She said I need insurance, but can buy that in Busan when I get off the ferry.

She also said that I'm allowed on the ferry with just a residency visa for Japan; no permanent resident status required.

It all sounds too easy! No import bond or crazy customs paperwork. Maybe when you arrive on a ferry like this, the ferry company handles all that stuff for you? Or should I really be speaking to a customs broker like Wendy Choi?

Thanks for any feedback.

Cheers,
Guy

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1997 Honda X4 ・ 2009 BMW R1200GS Adventure ・ IBA #42657

It is relatively easy for residents of Japan and Korea to go back and forth.
It only gets complicated when involving people/vehicles from "third countries."

You may want to have a talk with the Kampu ferry people on convincing them to allow non-residents to use their boat. Last time I talked to them they were more inflexible than a Japanese bureaucrat. Most of the legal issues are their presumptions, and they don't want to research issues they don't handle on a daily basis.

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Japan touring information

Thanks for the info, Chris.

Last night I heard from a friend in Japan who said he had been planning a similar trip to Korea about 5 or 6 years ago. He said he decided not to go, because it looked like it would take too long to get his motorcycle through customs, both on entering Korea and again on returning to Japan. Maybe half a day to a day or more, each way!

Do you (or anybody else) know if there is really such a long wait to get your bike through customs if you are a Japan resident, arriving at Busan, and also returning to Shimonoseki, on the Kampu ferry?

The ferry arrives at Busan at 8am. If I arrive on a Sunday, will I be stuck in customs for a whole day until somebody shows up on Monday morning to process me... and then lose most of Monday, too, getting the actual customs approval done, too? On a 5-day trip, I can't afford to lose a day and a half getting in and another day and a half getting out!

I hope you are right that the entry procedure is all a lot easier for Japan residents. But my friend's comments have me concerned and I just want to make sure. Thanks.

UPDATE: I just called the Kampu Ferry again to double-check. They insist that customs should only take about 30 minutes to an hour, even on a Saturday or Sunday! I think my friend either got some bad information, or else things have changed a lot since he researched the situation.

Still happy to hear any more info from experienced HUBBers.

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1997 Honda X4 ・ 2009 BMW R1200GS Adventure ・ IBA #42657

Just come ,, leave all your angst about the Korean customs, in Japan with the rest of the sxxx that is going on over there.

i drove across the peninsula at night, using the main highways (non toll), had zero problems, seems the speed cameras are front facing, located in the over head signs, must have had my photo taken and easy 6+ times... nothing has ever come of the photos.....
(not boasting, just passing on some info, that others might find useful)

There was a talk of placing a license plate in the front of the bike.. but nothing came of it.
Speeding on the bike is never enforced by the cops.. they have their hands full.

Noob here and first post too.

I am a long time resident in Japan and want to take my bike to Korea.
Someone told me that I need to have owned my bike for at least 3 months before I can take it to Korea. Is that correct?
Also, I was wondering if you have a check list of paperwork etc I need to take care of before I go.
I plan on going from Osaka or Shiminoseki to Busan then driving up to Seoul.
Total trip might take several weeks.

Thanks.

Never heard about a 3 month rule.
Here are the regulations for Kampu Ferry from Shimonoseki (assuming you can read Japanese as you say you are a long time resident).
自動車航送運賃
If in doubt, call them.
Note that some of the ferry company rules are not necessary Korean customs rules (for example, having citizenship or residence in Japan is a rule for the ferry company, but not for Korean customs in general).

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Japan touring information

Well - by traffic law and vehicle regulations we had to mount front license plates for a very long time over here in China but they finally changed the rules and only rear plates since 1st.May 2014 need to installed. Newly registered bikes only get the rear plate issued. Many import bike owners never mounted front license plates incl. yours truly....

Same over here, except within Beijing municipality - no motorbikes on toll expressways.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR