Airports are not exactly known for being calm, relaxing places; during COVID-19, this is no different. South Korea’s Incheon Airport is, in my opinion, one of the nicest and easiest to navigate airports I have yet encountered. While typically going through there is pleasant in comparison to many other airports, because of COVID there are a few new hurdles that make this entry process far more difficult. So, to help you enter South Korea as smoothly as possible, I will try to relay my experiences with the entry process during COVID-19.
Please note that depending on the airline you are flying with, your process may look slightly different in the early stages, though the Incheon-specific steps should look similar. I left the U.S. in early August, meaning that things have likely changed a bit in the subsequent months. Regardless, upon reaching my terminal in the United States, I was first instructed to line up to have my temperature taken. Once I was cleared, I was directed towards a table where an attendant handed me several forms to sign—one was for the airport’s personal records, to be filled out and submitted there; the others could be filled out then or on the plane, and would be submitted at Incheon Airport. I would recommend filling the forms out while at your domestic airport if time allows, as it is one less thing to worry about later on. Upon boarding, and once things settle down, you will be handed two additional forms by the flight attendants. These are the standard forms handed out even pre-COVID, one being the declaration form (declaring meats, plants, duty free items exceeding a certain monetary amount, etc.) and the other asking you to give your name, address in Korea, and so forth.
The flight itself was surreal. Despite being a relatively large plane capable of holding many people, in my back portion of the plane, there were approximately 10 guests. In my entire row, spanning across the three seating sections, I was the only passenger. Due to social distancing guidelines, Delta flights were, at the time, (and still may be) implementing distancing measures, meaning that upon booking, only every other seat was available (with the exception of travel companions). However, due to the fact that many people were refraining from travel, these measures and the lower booking rate lead to a very empty plane. While this may not be the case when you travel, you may be able to capitalize on extra space and additional quiet. However, despite the relative emptiness, you will still need to be wise and are expected to follow all COVID-precautions; I will discuss flight tips for traveling during a pandemic in another post!
Arrival at Incheon Airport means the beginning of a fairly long and potentially stressful process. I would recommend being prepared to exit the plane a decent amount of time in advanced as, especially if your plane is somewhat empty, the exit process occurs rather rapidly. By being prepared to exit, I am recommending that you grab your carry-on bags promptly, and from these gather your forms, passport and visa, and phone. As I will mention later, I would recommend having a folder or some other organizational tool to help keep these condensed and easier to keep track of. Put away anything that you will not be needing until later (I would even recommend putting away headphones as the process, while it does include some waiting time, can go fairly quickly and requires your attention), and try to keep your bags and other personal belongings as condense and efficiently arranged as possible. If you feel that you will need a snack or a drink at the end of the long flight, I would encourage you to eat and drink while still on the plane. Once again, let me reiterate that this was my experience as of early August; your experience may diverge, so use this as a guideline, but be prepared for variance.
The first step in the entry process is a standard temperature check. This will be written on a piece of paper that you will take with you to the next station. This leads me to another tip, I would highly recommend bringing folders or some other organizational tool to keep all of your papers both easily accessible and organized, with less risk of dropping or losing them. Throughout this process, you will be handling many different forms, and will need to have certain documents (including your passport and visa) at hand. It can become overwhelming at times to be hustling from one station to the next, all while tired and lugging bags, and additionally having to keep track of the paperwork. As I said above, it is wise to consolidate all your belongings (as in your carry-on items) as much as possible, because it is nice to have an efficient system when trying to move quickly between stations. Luggage straps, carabiners, and other such tools are wise investments if you will be bringing many (and especially large/heavy) bags.
After checking your temperature, you will be sent to a station where a government official will instruct you to download the quarantine check-in app that you will be required to check in on twice daily, every day of quarantine. I would encourage you to download the app before your arrival (I will put the name of the app below in the Helpful Hints section), but you will not be able to register for the app until you arrive. Another pro-tip: prepare a document for yourself that includes your address in Korea, your Korean phone number (if you have one), your passport number, and then the contact information of any Korean references you may have. This way, you will have all the information in one single place, making it more accessible, as you will have to write several of these repeatedly on various forms, including the check-in app set-up.
Once you have had your temperature taken and have set up the check-in app at the first station, you can proceed to a station where several military members sit behind a plexi-glass-shielded divided table where you will be seated across from one. Here, you will be asked to provide TWO Korean contacts who can verify your plans for life in Korea (such as lodging, length of stay, etc.—nothing too detailed). THIS IS IMPORTANT! If you do not have existing contacts, you need to contact your Korean university to assess what contact info you can provide. These contacts will have to be contacted via phone call when you arrive in Korea, regardless of the time. Your contacts must be reached before you can proceed with the rest of the entry process! In my particular situation, the official in charge of my paperwork at that station requested that I step to the side and wait for about 15-20 minutes while he helped others in line as one of my contacts was not picking up. After waiting for a while, he tried again and luckily reached them this time; while this was not a big deal, it did speak to their seriousness about each of these steps. Whether you arrange contact information through your university or through your own connections, you need to also be aware of your arrival time to the airport; if you are getting in quite late, it is important that you communicate with your contacts about the approximate time they can expect to receive a call from the airport (inform them ahead of time when you are set to arrive). Also note that your contacts should be proficient in Korean, or at least confident enough to have a conversation. Any missing information, including a lack of contacts, can potentially act as a hurdle in your entry process and can make a long procedure even longer. Furthermore, be aware that if you begin your journey with a travel companion or group, there is a chance that you will become separated, especially at this stage.
If your contacts are reached and your information verified, you will receive more forms to fill out (surprise!). From that station, you will be directed to an area to fill these out, where pens are provided (however, it may be wise to use your own to avoid touching communal surfaces). If I properly recall, these forms require your Passport number, your address in Korea, phone numbers and other such information (again, like I said earlier, it would be helpful at this point to have a “cheat sheet” with all this info on a reference page for expediency). Once you’ve filled these out, you can proceed to another line, which, halfway through, are tables on either side of the now diverging line, where you will be asked to hand over several of the forms you will at that point have. Now, in the final stages of a rather long process, you will continue to wait in line until you reach the last station; this is the entrance booth that you would go through even pre-COVID as here they will take your fingerprints, check your visa (if you have one) and passport, and possibly take your photo. During this, you will be asked to lower/remove your mask and/or face shield so that your face can be compared to the photo on your passport, so make sure your hands are free enough to do this quickly.
You’ve made it! You’re done with the primary entry process, and can now proceed to baggage claim. Depending on the day and time of your arrival, as well as how long the entry process takes you, you may be greeted with a fairly empty baggage claim area. Additionally, as was my experience due to the delay I experienced in the contact verification stage, your luggage may have been moved off the belt and into an “unclaimed luggage” pile nearby the assigned belt; so, if you do not immediately see yours, don’t panic. Luggage in tow, you can now head to the exit where you will be first made to drop off your declaration form (for first time travelers: you are asked to report the possession of certain amounts of cash, duty-free items above a certain collective cost, and then items such as meat jerky, plants, seeds, and so forth). This step is simple, as in my experience, all you have to do it drop the card into a bowl; as previously recommended, it is wise to have filled this card out while on the plane.
After that point, you will reach the exit area of the airport. This is where your experience will more than likely diverge from my own. I had been told that I could expect to get tested for COVID following the entry process, after boarding shuttles (for a fee of 16,000 KRW) that would take myself and other new arrivals from the airport to a testing facility; from there, we would head to our respective quarantine facilities. However, this was not my experience, which may be due to my arrival time (a weekend, past 5pm), or perhaps the process for testing has changed from earlier in the pandemic. So, please note that the following process may look different for you.
Once I dropped off the declaration card, I passed through an entry area where several officials stood, and one asked me whether I was being picked up (in the background, several people stood with signs waiting for other new arrivals). As I was not, and I needed a taxi, one of the officials directed me towards a desk in front of a sign that reads “Currency Exchange.” At this desk, the employee asked for my name and address, then called a taxi for me and informed me of the approximate cost of the drive. Almost immediately following this exchange, a taxi driver came up to the desk, confirmed my address with the employee, and assisted me in carrying and loading my bags. Here’s an important factor to consider: it is wise to make sure you have cash on hand (which you can either get ahead of time at your home bank, or at the airport currency exchange station) in the event that your taxi does not accept card or in the event of card issues. I would recommend bringing/getting about 200,000 KRW just to be safe. Nowadays, a majority of taxis do take cards, but it is always wise to be prepared in case of emergency. Another thing, which I will go into more detail on in the Helpful Hints section, is that you should expect a decently steep fare if you are travelling from Incheon Airport to Seoul. While in my experience taxis here are reasonably priced and rarely try to take advantage of the cluelessness of foreigners (it helps that there are ways to check how much a drive should cost on average), the drive from the airport to central Seoul is not a short trip. I exited the taxi with a fare of 85,000 KRW due (depending on the exchange rate, about $77). Again, check the Helpful Hints section for more on this.
If your experience mirrors my own at that point, you will now be free to lug your bags into your quarantine facility, where you will get to stay put until you venture out for COVID testing. You’ve been through a long journey and a rather stressful entry process, so take a relaxing shower, eat a snack, change into your cozy pajamas, and settled in for your first night of sleep in beautiful South Korea!
My next post will go into a bit more detail on the COVID testing process (as experienced by me, so please note that there may be variances on the rules, steps, and time frame of your own testing experience). I hope that this post will help you feel more confident about how to navigate entry to Korea and will allow you to prepare in advanced. Of course, if there is anything further you would like to know about the process of arrival or anything else, please feel free to use the question box at the bottom of my page!
Helpful Hints:
-Bring a pen, and keep it accessible! Even though most areas will have pens provided, in the event they do not (such as on the plane), you will still be able to go about business. Additionally, it means one less communal surface to touch, always an important consideration during the pandemic.
-As I encouraged before, bring a folder, the kind where items will not fall out easily! Having some sort of organization system will be of benefit to you as you navigate the arrival process. With so many forms to keep track of, from your departure airport, the flight itself, and Incheon airport, having a folder of some sort can help make life easier. Even after the airport process, having a few folders to organize the numerous forms you will inevitably have can be very helpful. From the copies of your visa and passport you will need to get your Alien Registration Card (a process I will discuss in a later post), to the forms given by your Korean university that confirm enrollment and housing, to forms brought from home indicating TB test results and so forth—you will have many things to keep track of, and I would not recommend shoving these papers in random drawers to risk being lost, ruined, or thrown out. Planning out an organizational system can help prevent crises and just generally make your life easier.
-Additionally, as I emphasized earlier, it may be helpful to have a “cheat sheet” prepared. Commonly asked information includes: your passport number, your Korean phone number if you have one, your address in Korea (I would recommend figuring out ahead of time how to write it in both Roman characters and in Korean (Hangeul)), and the names of your contacts (if you have any) in Korea and their phone numbers. You may also want to include anything else you think may come up that you would not remember off the top of your head.
-The app required by the Korean government for the twice-daily quarantine check-ins is 자가격리자 안전보호. The logo has a little blue house outline with a figure inside, and a swirl pattern to the bottom right. There is another similar app that may show up when you search for the correct one, but this one only has the swirl as the logo. The check in app will be set up in the airport and is required to be downloaded, active, and utilized the entirety of your quarantine. Violating this rule or failing to use the app properly may result in issues, so make sure to use it as required.
-I may have mentioned this before, but I would encourage you to look into getting a Korean SIM Card (phone number) either before leaving for Korea or at the airport. There are shorter term options that you can pursue until you settle into life here and can find a cheap and acceptable plan; while they may cost a bit more, they can come in handy for the first few weeks. Korean phone numbers are required for things like food delivery (groceries or meals), and is even requested for COVID test results. I am lucky to have friends who assisted me in getting food and dealing with testing matters, but had they not been able or willing to help me, I would have been in a very difficult situation.
-I have, in a previous post, mentioned various apps to download before coming to Korea. I will again mention KakaoT (or Kakako Taxi). This lifesaving app allows you to request taxis from virtually anywhere in Korea (including Jeju island!) in mere minutes, which is fantastic if you are nervous about hailing a taxi on your own or are in a low-traffic area. The app, which will be linked to your Kakao account, allows you to select different types of taxis (such as extra clean, larger, or “deluxe”), and also shows you the estimated cost of the trip per type of taxi you can request. This is a wonderful feature when hailing a taxi from the app as it allows you to get your payment in order ahead of time and can also help you decide whether you would rather take a longer, but less expensive journey via the subways or buses. Even if you do not use the app to hail a taxi, you can use the price estimation feature to verify that the cab driver is charging you a reasonable fee.
Above are some photos from my own airport entry experience. Don't be fooled: while it appears fairly empty, the process was far from short. Be prepared for a fair bit of waiting and standing!
(All photos and content on this page are my own work and property. Do not repost or use any content from this blog without permission. Thank you.)