Q: Okay. Here is the thing. It was my birthday last week and my mom sent me a birthday gift from back home. (She ordered the gift for me online, and it was delivered to South Korea). This week, I got a call from the customs office and they told me to pay customs tax in order to receive my package. Am I required to pay customs tax even if it’s just a gift from my mom?

A: Yes. I suppose so.

Correct me if I am wrong, but generally speaking, whether you are Korean or a foreigner, any items shipped to South Korea that is under 150,000 won (150$) are free of custom tax.

Well… Some items are exempt.

But if your purchase costs more than $150, you will be required to pay customs tax.

The actual tax rate varies depending on the items.

However, one thing that I want you to know is that the customs tax is not calculated per purchase.

Instead, they calculate the total value of goods that arrive at the port per day.

I mean, if you had purchased many small items, say… one item is about $100, another is $50 and the other item is about $100, since each item is under $150, you may think that you are tax free.

But if those three parcels arrived on the same day to the Incheon International Airport, then you would be required to pay the taxes for each parcel.

Here’s one more thing that you should be aware of.

Whether you are Korean or a foreigner living in Korea, if you receive items from abroad, or if you are an active shopper who buys from foreign shopping websites, you will be required to sign up for a customs ID number to simplify the process.

In Korean, it’s called “개인 통관 고유 번호”.

In English, It is called “PCCC”, meaning Personal Customs Clearance Code.

This personal customs clearance number consists of a 13 digit number starting with the letter P.

Once you get this number, it is tied to your ID number and your home address.

So I recommend getting your PCCC number soon.

You can also do it through your phone.

But if you are not good at Korean, you should probably get help from someone in-person.

Visit the website of Korean Customs Service aka 관세청.

You can find “개인 통관 고유 부호 발급”, meaning issuing your PCCC.

If you click it, two buttons will appear.

One is “조회” and the other is “신규발급”.

조회 means you have double checked if you already have a PCCC number.

신규발급 means that you are new and you are willing to get your own PCCC number.

Get your PCCC number.

I hope you paid customs tax and got your parcel.

I don’t want to scare you or anything, but there is a slight chance that you can be denied entry into the country next time you are at an airport, if you do not pay the customs taxes.

So you want to be mindful about paying the taxes when picking up packages to avoid any situations.

By the way, happy belated birthday!