Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pangaea]

I have taken part in some of the discussions as to whether to bring a dog to Korea or not. I have finally decided that I will probably have to bring my dog with me. She was a stray that I found when I lived in Korea and brought home with me last summer. She is a chihuaha, and as is typical of the breed and stray dogs in general, she is extremely attached to me. Getting her home to the US was such a nightmare that now I'm really stressed about the prospect of bringing her back. I'm a "what if" kind of person, so now I'm worried about her getting lost in transit, being refused entry, landlords refusing to let her live in my apartment, finding a good boarding facility, etc. Has anyone had any problems bringing their dog to Korea? Anything that I need to watch out for? I know she will need to have her rabies vaccine and have a quarantine certificate. Does anyone know of anything else she will need to have or any tips for her to travel safely?

[licorice]

I've never brought a dog to Korea, but I found these websites:
http://www.korea4expats.com/article-bringing-pets.html
http://www.korea4expats.com/article-govt-rules-re-bringing-pet-into-Korea.html

You could also post in the Animal Rescue Korea forum under Pet Travel.
http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/forums/index.php

I was wondering if you could write about your experience taking your dog back home with you though. I have two dogs that I rescued here and I'm leaving at the end of my contract in a few months. Thanks in advance!

[teachergirltoo]

As noted above, animalrescuekorea.org has excellent information.

I take mine back and forth between the States and here. I always use Korean Airlines and have had excellent service. The chihuahua flies up front with me and the cocker spaniel in special cargo. It is hard for me to imagine what type of transport problems you could have had because I haven't had any. When I came this direction I was upfront with my employer about having them and never had a problem. I work at a PS so it is a pretty stable environment so that has probably helped some (and when they go one teacher getaways I always get to stay home because of having pets, so I like that too). Also, if she flies up front with you there should be no worries about her getting misplaced. Korean Airline personnel are always standing right beside my spaniel's Kennel when he arrives, and process the paperwork within a minute. Chances are, everything will go super smooth for you too.

[sineface]

[pangaea]

Thanks for all the tips and the links!

As for my experience bringing my dog home...it's a long story but here goes.

I found my dog about 5 months before I left. I didn't want or need a dog but I found her dirty, starving, and shivering on my street at the end of January and couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't bring her home for some food and warmth. She's a chihuaha and weighs about 9 pounds now but she was skin and bones when I found her. I never intended to keep her but you know how it goes...anyway, she became fiercely attached to me immediately so it would have been hard to give her to someone else.

So-my boss bought my plane ticket which involved flying from Jeju-Seoul-Tokyo-Chicago-Knoxville. Big mistake there. I should have just spent the extra money and got a straight flight from Seoul to Atlanta. My ticket also involved 3 different airlines, including Korean Air and American Air. American Airlines has some strict regulations regarding pet travel. I had to have one particular kennel style so that plastic ties could be used to tie the door shut so no one could open it. They also will not transport an animal if the temp is above or below a certain temp anywhere on your itinerary. After buying the wrong kennel, my vet had one shipped to his office. Pricey at 80,000 won but I had to have it.

I made sure my dog had her shots-barely in time as it turned out-and had the regulation water bottle attached to her kennel door. On the day I left I was really stressed. I had already had an anxiety attack that morning due to all the stress of going home after over a year. I also finished packing and cleaning just as my boss got there to take me to the airport. I had had 2 hours of sleep at that point.

I got to the Jeju airport to the counter and the clerk told me my dog couldn't go on the plane with me and would have to ride cargo. Fine. I was prepared for that. I put the kennel on the conveyer belt and immediately teared up. I was absolutely shocked and embarrassed. I never cry in front of anyone, least of all in public and I wasn't expecting it. An employee had come over to help me check in and I had to fill out some kind of paper. She took one look at my face and filled out the paper for me herself. Then, right before I left, sniffling like an idiot, she promised me my dog would be fine. Regardless of all the problems and frustrations I have seen posted here and that I have experienced myself in Korea, I also met many people who were truly kind.

I stayed at a hotel for the night and got to Incheon Airport the next morning about 4 hours before my flight thinking I would have plenty of time. The clerk, who seemed to be young and inexperienced, asked me if I had paperwork for taking my dog to Japan. I told him I didn't need any-I wasn't staying in Japan, just spending a few hours in the airport before my connecting flight. He then asked me who I had spoken to - I had already spoken to a travel agent, a rep from American Air, and done internet research and knew I didn't have to have anything special for Japan since I wasn't actually entering the country. He then got on the phone and started calling people to find out if this was true. Doing his job, I know but he wasted over an hour calling people and looking at my paperwork before asking a supervisor standing next to him who cleared it up in a few seconds. Then I gave him my paperwork and I didn't have the quarantine certificate. I don't know how I overlooked it but I thought the rabies certificate from my vet was all I needed. The clerk told me we didn't have much time and ran through the airport with the dog to the quarantine office where I got my certificate and was again told I didn't need anything special for Japan.

At this point, I had very little time left before my flight. I had everything squared away with my dog and handed over my luggage. I had two suitcases, a duffel bag, and the kennel. They told me I would have to pay extra since I had the kennel plus an extra bag - $450.00 USD extra. I had about 10 minutes to board the plane and didn't have time to argue or repack anything. I had to go stand in another line and waited to pay the extra baggage charge. Before I was able to pay, the 2 clerks I was working with were frantically waving me back over. American airlines, for reasons unknown, had decided I couldn't get on my flight from Japan to Chicago. One of the clerks literally dragged me by my backpack to the AA counter to speak to one of their reps. She told me I couldn't get on my flight from Tokyo to Chicago and couldn't tell me why. She said I could possibly take the flight to Los Angeles but I would have to work that out in Japan. She even told me that if this was too much trouble I should just leave my dog in Korea. As if abandoning my dog in the airport was a perfectly reasonable thing to do.l By that time, it was way past time to board my flight so I had to just take the flight to Japan not knowing if I had a flight out. They also had no time to check my dog-I was the last person to board the flight and apparently they were holding things up for me because I was so late. They made an exception for my dog and she rode with me, kennel and all, in the empty seat next to me.

I got to Japan and handed over my quarantine certificate to one of the employees who was waiting there especially for me. She took the certificate and my dog and waited while I got my luggage. I came back from the luggage carrel and there were 2 other employees waiting there with her. Apparently I warranted a team. She then informed me that she was taking my dog because she couldn't go into Japan. I immediately panicked and we argued back and forth for about 15 minutes. She kept saying she was taking my dog and I kept saying she was not. I wasn't staying in Japan. I knew she couldn't go on the plane with me. She was riding in cargo. I was in tears again and all of them were looking at me like I was crazy. They didn't understand why I was so upset. Finally we worked through the language barrier. She wasn't keeping my dog she just had to take her to another building herself. The transport for people was outside and my dog couldn't go outside so apparently she took her some super secret underground way to the terminal.

After that was cleared up, one of the other ladies got a rep from American Airlines on the phone. They had thought it would be too hot in Chicago for my dog so they were going to send me through LA (It was going to be cooler in LA??) but had decided I could still take my flight to Chicago. I had to walk away to go through customs. My dog saw me walking away and started the high-pitched yipping she does when she's scared. Waterworks again. I got to customs and the man asked me if I was alright. "My dog," I managed to choke out because he could hear her too. Then he asked me if I had my paperwork. I'm sure all the blood drained from my face and I started stammering something to him incoherently. I had had all I could take at that point. One of the ladies who had been helping me said something to him and he let me through, fortunately without asking me any more questions.

I got to the terminal, picked a spot out on the floor, and began pulling out clothes to throw away. Because of the chaos in Seoul, I hadn't paid the extra baggage fee and had no intention on paying it now. I ended up throwing out about 15 items and getting everything, including my duffel bag, stuffed into 2 suitcases.

We finally made it home, though I'm not sure how I did it without having a nervous breakdown. My advice to anyone taking their pet home is research, research, research. Know exactly what you need for each airline to travel with your pet because not all of them have the same regulations. Also, I would try to speak with someone in charge with your airline in Seoul and get that person's name if you think your situation will be complicated. I'm sure the person I had thought he was doing his job but, holy sh*t! At least 2 hours were entirely wasted while he shuffled papers and called people trying to get an answer to a question I and his supervisor already knew the answer to. If at all possible take a direct flight from Seoul to your home country. I will never again try to take an animal throught multiple countries. All the different regulations combined with the language barriers can create a disaster.

Ok, sorry this is so long.

[Marissa0687]