Dear Nxxxx ...
Inbound to Korea from Russia ,,
Zarubino or Vladivostok is same.

Ask Yuri Menikov in Vladivostok.. HUBB forwarder.

Yuri Melnikov
Links, Ltd.
89 Svetlanskaya str., office 312,
690078, Vladivostok, Russia.
Tel/fax: +7(423)222-15-78
Tel: +7(423)222-08-87
Mobile: +7 902 5243447
mail to: ymelnik@links-ltd.com

When you arrive, in Sok Cho or Dong Hae, you simply declare a personal effect manifest,, your bike being a mobile personal item, no tax,, no carnet. They will ask you how long the bike will be in the country and may direct you to an insurance agency,, Get the bike insurance! There is an insurance agent the ferry knows of and it is only 40 bucks for a month, for a third party liability.
Also you need to read my thread on the HUBB about riding in Korea if you can.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...in-korea-57857

This ferry has closed operation as of June 24, 2014
http://stenadaea.com/eng/main.asp

http://www.dbsferry.com/eng/main/main.asp


Once you arrive Sok Cho or Dong Hae ,, to Seoul is about 5 hours ,, go to In Sa Dong and ask any police man, for a motel,, you are 15 minutes by walking from the city hall,, full of historical palaces and museums.The rate is ca USD 50 or nearby 2 -3 star hotel USD 180. Booking.com is great for this.
Get hold of Wendy Choi,, a HUBB Korea forwarder.
wendychoi2@gmail.com
M 010-6213-3961
Ask her to help you find your forwarder,, she will not charge you for this.
After you have settled in call me at 010-4765-4984
Last year I gave USD 2,500 to Iron Angels, Vladivostok for their charity. I will definitely will open my ears to your project.
Get hold of Iliya of the Angels,, and chew some tobacco over my time there.
Ochin dobre Ruskie,, I love the damn place and the people.
Angels address;
http://ironangelsmcc.com/index.php

Good luck ,,
Joe

Hi Joe, You appear to be the authority on S. Korea and bikes and I've been getting mixed results trying to find some answers to some questions. I'm thinking of coming to Korea for work for a while, maybe a year and was wondering if there was a way to bring my bike with me for that long. How long can I bring in the bike without "importing" it and paying crazy duty fees? I plan on continuing to Russia after my stay in S. Korea and want my bike for that so buying one there isn't really an option (plus I like my bike and have puts tons of work into modifying it). I've seen threads where military guys do this, but it may be different off base...

The actual "plan" is to ship it to Thailand, ride around the area for a few months, then proceed to S. Korea, spend about a year, then proceed to Russia for a while (I'm originally Russian, but live in the USA). Maybe Europe or Africa after that, but that's a long time away.

Any help, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Joe. lev

Depeneds on your visa. If you are coming to reside. You will need to declare the bike as a household item..with import duties ca 30% then mot inspection of usd 500 to 2000 then epb test of usd 500 and if pass all.. registration fee of usd 700.
If you come as a transiit.with proper declaration for your bike..within your normal 3mos then with more visa extensions..could stretch a year.
....without paying any fee...except the insurance.
Good luck.

Thanks! You gave me hope

As I have stated many times.. it turns out to be a big BS..
Just this week ,. a Swiss rider with German registered bike came thru Korea from Vladivostok.
He has sent me an EM, from Russia, with this myth ,, concern.
Just told him come thru and sure enough he passed right thru the customs, at Sok Cho and have shipped his bike today to Canada via In-Cheon AP.

So don't listen to this fable if you are riding a German reg bike or have a Swiss license. Korea has opened up. (Still,, If you send the bike to ICN by cargo ,, you might meet a voodoo customs official, who insists on the 1949 treaty) Use Wendy Choi do the import paper work.

i entered through incheon airport using my Hong Kong Drivers license and Canada plated motorcycle, zero problems, all they wanted to see was my international drivers license and registration, they never batted an eye that they were from very different countries

My brother riding club, who has in the past met some of you on the road as well in Korea. I have sent many of them to meet you off the boat at Sok Cho or Dong Hae has come aboard on HUBB.
If any of you coming to Korea, wishes to meet ,, share or need assistance, please contact my brothers.

http://cafe.naver.com/motorcycletrav...lubid=13673174

Soon I am turning my summer house on the river in Yang Pyung into a biker club,, let you know.

If you need further assistance ,, you know how to get hold of me.

as the title of this thread is "Riding Pointers in Korea" this is what i found out:

The ferry leaves Sokcho for Zarubino every Tuesday at 1pm, the Sokcho International Terminal opens at 7:30am, go in the main doors, on the far right is a corridor, (or drive to the right side of the building) half way down, another turn and then you can see the Stena office, this is the cargo office (your ticket comes later on) go in and tell them that you have a motorcycle that you will be bringing with you. they will start the paper work. as for spoken languages, there was a korean man (and a russian woman) working in the cargo section that spoke pretty good english. i paid W581,524 for a bmw xchallenge, not sure if its a set price, as they didnt look at the bike, just gave me a price (and an official receipt). there is an ATM in the building for you to withdraw your money, and the cargo guy will assist you through the process. somewhere around 11am, cargo guy will bring you over to where you can buy your ticket for the ferry.

i chose the cheap rooms, as the ferry was empty, i paid W90,000 for a one way ticket and had the room to myself. shower facilities onboard (brilliant hot shower)

important to ensure, that when you leave incheon airport you have the original import document that the customs office issued you with. as customs in sokcho, will NOT accept photo copies