Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cbiggie]

I have a 3 year old Persian cat that I would like to take with my to Korea when I go there to teach. I am planning on staying in Korea for about 3-5 years and I am planning to teach at a Hagwon first and then maybe transfer to public school. Please give me any advice and share your experiences! Thank you!

[warmachinenkorea]

As long as you have all the paper work and a rabies shot that's 30 days old it shouldn't be a problem. My wife and I brought our cat from The States and have a similar plan. We're starting our 4th contract.

But I think some regulations might have changed recently.

[cbiggie]

Thanks for the response! Did you travel with your cat with you in the passenger section or did your cat travel in the cargo section or did you use a private pet transport service? Did you cat have to be quarantined? If so, for how long? Thank you again for your feedback!

[warmachinenkorea]

She traveled in cabin.

She was quarantined but it was because the rabies shot wasn't 30 days old. We didn't get her shot in time so she stayed in quarantine for 2 weeks.
If your cats rabies is 30 days old and you have the health certs then you should be able to walk out of the airport with him/her.

[Illysook]

Get your kitty vaccinated at least 30 days before the flight and then get her USDA certified within 10 days of your flight. Korea doesn't require the certificate, but the airlines often do.

Also make sure that your flight doesn't go through Japan. They can and do require a lot of extra work to even allow your pett o go through their airport.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

My daughter has two cats and we flew Northworst in '09 here from Nevada. You can buy a regulation in-craft carrier for them for about $30. Northwest is very anal on the 15lb limit and charges $150 a cat.. one of ours needed a bit of a diet. If your experience is like mine, the cat will be scared by the noise and movement in the airport but will fall asleep when the jet engines start up. They seem to like the vibration.

Try not to send your cat by cargo because the cats can get overheated sitting on the tarmac in addition to being terrified.

It's easy to get all sorts of cat food and toys and litter here. The only issue is that you should not bring cats here unless they are strictly indoor cats. If you let yours go outside it will be kicked or attacked or run over very quickly. Korea is getting more pet-friendly than before, but still has some ways to go.

With Korean apartments it is don't-ask-don't-tell. If asked, managers will probably forbid cats, but no one will ever care if you just bring one in.