Korean Job Discussion Forums

[timetotravel]

im sure this is the most ridiculous question ever, sorry!
BUT - when you ship things home can you just go to the korean post office with your stuff already in a box or must you use the boxes they provide there?
also has anyone shipped to the UK? what were your experiences with cost and time to arrive?

[BS.Dos.]

I went in with one of my own boxes once with some things I was sending to the US. They said the box I wanted to use wasn't strong enough and so I had to re-pack it into one of their stronger boxes. They didn't charge me for the new box though.

[SSA]

If you go to the Korean post office website. I cant remember the address off-hand but they have a print out of the weight and the cost for different zones. The uk comes under zone 3 and then you just look at the weight. Whenever I send anything even small stuff I take it with me because the quote they give me is always higher and then I show them the paper and they correct the 'mistake'. the prices vary by weight and if your package is 1 gram over the weight bracket it moves up to the next pay bracket. so for example 500g is 5000 won and 501 gram is 9000 won but you could fill the box up to 999 grams and it would be the same price as its the 500-1000gram bracket.

20 kilos was going to be about 120,000 (cheaper than excess baggage - I will send all my non valuables this way when I leave). Another thing to note is that there is no difference in price for sending an envelope or a box.

But do print the pay scale thing and keep it with you when you go then they are less likely to con you.

[Sapa]

http://www.koreapost.go.kr/eng/service/service01_06_05.jsp

that's the link for the postage fees. If you can wait for delivery it's much cheaper to send surface mail. 48,000 for 20kg.

[timetotravel]

oh awesome thanks!
how long does surface mail typically take?

[SSA]

it takes months. I wont send anything surface because by the time it finally arrives the box is bettered and half the contents are damaged or missing. My mum sent a box from London - Korea in October and it arrived in April. They have a 90 day estimate but when I emailed to report mine missing after 5 months I didnt hear back and the next week it arrived with winter clothes I no longer needed and things were damaged. Maybe just bad luck but Ive spoken to others who had had stuff go missing or get damaged in surface mail.

[hugekebab]

On the flip side, my gf shipped her stuff to hong kong and it took a week and arrived in perfect condition. with shipping you have to pack the stuff really really well. i would be tempted to pay more for airfreight though.