Food, meat, fruit and plants you cannot bring into Korea: what is banned, what to declare, and the fines
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Korea treats food, meat, fruit, plants and seeds you carry in as quarantine goods, not just as customs goods. Declare every plant product and every animal product when you land; officers inspect them and may destroy anything that fails. Fresh fruit is banned from most origins, rice paddy and straw are banned, and uninspected animal and plant items can bring a fine. The law lets a plant-quarantine fine for personal carry-in reach KRW 3 million, and an animal-quarantine fine for not reporting reach KRW 10 million (statutory maximums). Tax-free allowances for food are a separate customs question: 5 kg per item, 40 kg total and KRW 100,000 in price for agricultural, livestock and fishery goods bought overseas.
Declare allFruit, vegetables, seeds, seedlings, flowers, grain, herbal medicine, meat and animal products
KRW 3 millionMaximum fine, plant items carried for own use and not inspected or falsely declared
KRW 10 millionMaximum fine, traveller who does not report animal quarantine goods
5 kg / 40 kgCustoms tax-free limit per food item / in total
Read on 2026-10-19. The Plant Protection Act page shows "[시행 2026. 12. 17.] [법률 제21802호, 2026. 6. 16., 일부개정]" and the Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases shows "[시행 2027. 4. 1.] [법률 제21504호, 2026. 3. 31., 일부개정]": the National Law Information Center displays the next scheduled version, so the text you see there may differ from the one in force today. The agency pages print no revision date.
Allowed, banned, or declare: a quick table
| Item | Status | What the official text says |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh fruit (mango, papaya, orange, lychee, grape are named examples) | Banned from most places; declare anyway | The legal import-ban table lists fresh fruit, fruit-vegetables and fresh legume pods (coconut and unripe banana excluded) as banned worldwide except the origins listed per item, for example persimmon from the US (not Hawaii, Texas, Florida), Japan or New Zealand, or durian from Thailand. Banned fruit found at the border is ground up and thrown away in front of the traveller. |
| Rice paddy, rice husks, straw and their processed products | Banned from everywhere except Japan and Taiwan | Hulled rice ("껍질을 벗긴 쌀") is not in that ban, but it is still a plant product to declare. |
| Walnuts in the shell | Banned from listed regions | Shelled walnuts are excluded from the table, yet the agency's leaflet says walnuts must be declared whether or not the shell is on. |
| Sweet potato, cassava (underground parts), other fresh produce | Banned from listed regions; declare | Sweet potato and cassava rows list many Asian, African and American origins. The leaflet's short summary is wider ("worldwide: potato, chili"); the legal table is regional. Declare either way. |
| Seeds, seedlings, bulbs, flowers, soil | Declare; live soil and soil-covered plants cannot be imported | Some planting material is grown out in isolation for a set period. Live pathogens, insects (including insect pupae, larvae, eggs) and soil are on the leaflet's "cannot import" list. |
| Sesame, chili powder, other farm produce | Declare; may be held for lab inspection | The agency says produce that might carry pests is held at the site and sent for laboratory quarantine, then disinfected or destroyed according to what is found. |
| Herbal medicine and grains | Declare | On the leaflet's list of items you must declare. |
| Meat, animal skin and hair, animal products, other foods | Declare | Korea Customs lists "Animal (including meat, skin, and hair), plant, fruit, vegetable, live fish; agricultural, forest, livestock, and fishery products (including processed goods); other foods" among goods to declare. |
| Beef and beef products from BSE countries; specified risk material | Banned by law | The Act bans imports of beef and beef products from cattle 30 months or older from a country where BSE occurred within the last five years, and specified risk material. |
| Anything from a banned animal-disease region | Banned | Quarantine goods produced in, shipped from or passing through regions the minister designates as import-banned cannot come in. The region list is a notice we did not fetch. |
| Pets (dog, cat) | Allowed with papers | See bringing a dog or cat into Korea. |
| Wildlife and protected plants (CITES), such as bear gall bladder, musk, orchids, cactus, ivory | Restricted: needs all clearance requirements | Korea Customs calls these restricted goods and says all restricted goods must meet every clearance requirement regardless of the tax-free threshold. |
Fines and consequences
| Case | Consequence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Plant items carried for own use: false declaration, or not quarantined, or quarantined by improper means | Fine up to KRW 3 million (Plant Protection Act, Article 50(3), item 2) | Law |
| Delaying the plant-quarantine declaration | Fine up to KRW 3 million (Article 50(3), item 3) | Law |
| Traveller with animal quarantine goods does not report on arrival | Fine up to KRW 10 million (Contagious Animal Diseases Act, Article 60(2), item 6) | Law |
| Banned or uncertified animal goods | Quarantine officer can order return or destruction; storage, return and disposal costs fall on the owner (Article 33) | Law |
| Plant items carried without declaration | "최고 500만원" (up to KRW 5 million) | Agency leaflet |
| Goods over the customs tax-free limit, not declared | Extra tax of 40% (60% if found twice or more within 2 years); a voluntary declaration earns a 30% duty reduction | Korea Customs |
The two plant fines differ. The agency's leaflet says KRW 5 million for not declaring plants you carry; the Plant Protection Act says KRW 3 million for the personal-use carry-in case. We show the dated law text as the headline figure (KRW 3 million). The leaflet uses the agency's old name ("농림수산검역검사본부"), so it predates the current organisation. The Act sets maximums; the actual fine in your case is set by the authority under the Decree's table, which we did not retrieve.
Common mistakes the agency lists
- "Only live plants count." No. Mango and other fresh fruit, sesame and other farm produce are plant products that must be declared.
- "The X-ray at customs cleared my bag." No. The agency says customs X-ray and plant quarantine are separate and you must declare separately.
- "Declaring is enough." No. You may take the produce into Korea only if the quarantine officer's inspection passes it.
- "I bought it at the airport or duty-free." It makes no difference; declare it.
- "The customs food allowance means quarantine is waived." No. The tax-free 5 kg / 40 kg / KRW 100,000 figure comes from Korea Customs' duty rules, while the quarantine agency says its inspection is separate from customs checks. For the general limits on alcohol, tobacco and perfume see the duty-free allowance page, and for cash see the cash declaration page.
What to do at the airport
- On the flight, write the quarantine items on the traveller declaration form.
- After immigration, go to the quarantine inspection point before the customs inspection. Plant items go to the plant quarantine desk, animal products to animal quarantine.
- Hand over the item; the officer decides. Accepted items go through, items that fail are destroyed, and suspect farm produce can be kept for lab testing.
- If unsure, declare and ask. The plant-quarantine department lists 031-467-1700 (head office) and 031-740-2080 or 2074 (Incheon Airport regional office) on its leaflet; confirm numbers on the agency site, since the leaflet is old.
What this page does not cover
- Processed foods item by item (kimchi-style, snacks, instant noodles). For these, check the official source below for what is allowed.
- Country-specific bans on meat and dairy during animal-disease outbreaks. These sit in separate ministry notices.
- Alcohol, tobacco and medicines. Alcohol and tobacco allowances are on the duty-free page.
Official sources
- APQA — 해외여행객 식물검역안내 (travellers' plant quarantine guide, text version) — declare-everything list, banned plants summary, five common mistakes, 'up to KRW 5 million'; old agency name in the text, no revision date (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- APQA — 잘못 알려진 식물검역 사례 (commonly misunderstood plant quarantine cases) — carried plants are always quarantined; banned produce is ground up and discarded; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- APQA — 금지식물 (import-banned plants table) — rice, fresh fruit, walnuts, sweet potato and cassava rows with banned and permitted origins; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Customs Service (English) — Customs Clearance Guide for Passengers — 5 kg / 40 kg / KRW 100,000 food allowance, goods to declare, 30% / 40% / 60% duty rules; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Plant Protection Act, Article 50 (fines) — KRW 3 million fine for own-use plant items; page header: in force 2026-12-17 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Plant Protection Act, Article 12 (quarantine of imported plant goods) — importer must report and be inspected at the first port of arrival (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Contagious Animal Diseases Act, Article 36 (import quarantine) — travellers must report designated quarantine goods on arrival; page header: in force 2027-04-01 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Contagious Animal Diseases Act, Article 60 (fines) — KRW 10 million fine for failing to report as a traveller (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Contagious Animal Diseases Act, Articles 31, 32 and 33 — what counts as animal quarantine goods, import bans, return or destruction at the owner's cost (checked 2026-10-19)
Prices change. If an official page shows a different number from this page, the official page wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.
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