awesome, thanks for the info guys. out of interest, did you have carnets for your bikes? we seem to be hitting quite a few problems due to our lack of carnets (we chose a route based on countries that do not require carnets) and the south korean contacts our shipping company is using seem to be saying that we will be faced with a US2,500 customs duty fee if we try and clear our bikes through south korean customs without a carnet. it sounds like this may apply whether or not we truck our bikes directly to the ferry to Vlad or not. has any one encountered this before?

cheers
rob

S Korea doesn't need a Carnet, as said Wendy Choi's contacts will handle it for you theere is no longer a $1000 bond, I thought there would be too but thought sack it and went ahead anyway, they charged me a customs handling fee made me buy road tax and thats it the customs handling fee was pretty low but then again I didn't crate my bike either. (in wards).

Quite frankly I could have abandoned the bike at Sokcho and walked out of the ferry port, or just walked to one side started the bike and ridden off as Korea seems to rely greatly on trust these days.

You will be asked to sign a declaration and promise to remove the bike by a certain date though I didn't see any penalties attached to it. BTW Germans are not allowed to ride in S Korea, all other signatories of the international driving permit convention are allowed.

but as above say Annyeonghasseyo to Wendy for me! if you visit Seoul (traffic is horrendous) and don't stay at Kim's either!

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Hi all.
Wendy is the one then for shipping ect great,does anybody have her contact details?
Thanks alot Coxy.

Opps meant to send it as a PM

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I'll add to this thread since it already has good info.

My bike was air-freighted to Incheon. Before I could get it released from customs I needed the aforementioned temporary tags and insurance. I was able to get both at the governmental district office, three subway connections from the airport train station. The subway system is very easy to navigate, with announcements and station signs in Korean and English. (I was originally sent to Incheon City Hall, which does not handle this type of matter.)

My customs clearance agent informed me that I would need to post a cash deposit of about US$2000 (on a DR650), but he was able to have them use the carnet instead. In so many words he intimated that the CAA-issued carnet was usually not accepted, but the customs clerk was new and didn't quite know that.

I was able to uncrate at the customs warehouse (as entertainment for anyone taking a smoke break) and dispose of the metal-frame crate alongside the building for no cost.

There is another way to get from from the island of Incheon to the mainland if you have trouble using the expressways. There is a car/passenger ferry that can be taken from the docks at the east end of the island. From customs, go to the main airport highway and follow the signs for Yeong Jong dock. Cost was about US$6 (motorcycle), trip was about 20 minutes. You are let off at Wolmido docks on the mainland.

This is from a holder of a US passport, on a US-registered bike, in August 2010.

Cheers
Sean

Already clear from thread that Wendy Choi is the right contact, but I too cannot find the actual contact details etc. Any help would be much
appreciated.

Chris

Yes indeed. She is a great person. Just had EM exchanges with her and she was so helpful

Terry apparently did the same thing flying his bike in from the UK in 2009, IIRC he said he didn't have to pay any deposit, AND it was OK for him to ride from the expressway from the airport into the city.... I've been on the express ways a few times as the A and B roads in Korea are not pleasant to ride on!

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wendy's email is wendychoi2 [<AT>] gmail [<DOOTT>] com

she is very helpful & nice. Really a great girl. I hope to meet her again.

I went into S Kor in 06 with my indian, & had to post a 400.00 deposit at the border (took ferry from RU)

Last year, I came to Busan from Japan on my harley, no deposit, but had to pay 130 usd or so for some tax?

Wendy handled the air export to the US last year, including crating, customs, etc.
She offered to have it trucked to Seoul, but whats the fun in that?

besides, it probably ends up costing the same.

Hope that helps

Doug

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