Advice for shipping to Korea

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

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I want to give my friend who is in the Korean military a decent Kershaw. What is the absulote BEST way to ship to him? The cost doesn't matter as much as the knife's arrival.

Thanks in advance!

Kent
 
ditto on the EMS shipping. it'll be easier if you get the zip code** as well. My girl friend never told me it before when i sent her things, but since it could be narrowed down with province, then city, then address, zip didn't matter much. It just may help with a day or so speed. I've only sent her one knife and had zero problems with customs.
 
Is the address an APO ? If so you can send it regular usps priority flat rate w/insurance for the same price as US shipping . If not I would have the post office look at the address and tell you if it's valid / The S.Korean address are very long and can get mixed up easy .
 
Just a note; I live here in Korea and the laws are crazy in regards to blades. For example, a 6cm (2.3 inch) blade may require a license!!! See if he has a military address you could send it to, it may be better. BTW, here is a link to the Korea zip code finder in case he didn't give it to you.

Might want to read this, written by Bentusian on a british blade forum:

This post is mainly to give a rough headsup on the current Korean knife law (and some developments) to those who might be travelling/residing in South Korea. I see this especially timely as the Korea National Police(KNP) is now conducting some major crackdown on possession of knives and swords.

For example, what the police officers are doing these days is: just walk into some of the larger knife/sword shops, confiscate whatever they see as illegal, seize their sales record, hunt down the customers, and issue a summons to see if these people possess any edged tools illegally, i.e. without proper license of possession. Bigger problem is that the law is being applied retroactively to those innocent people who have hardly questioned themselves whether their collection was perfectly legal.

It's not just about these shops and their sales records, but also about some of the Korean on-line knife forums like BB. The authority searches thru all the posts for possible violation of the law (especially knife reviews with pics), and issue a summons.

All these problems are taking place due to literal/strict application of the current knife/sword law in South Korea, without actual changes in the law text. Let me briefly sum up my understanding by a couple of Q&As:

Q1: For what sort of edged tools am I required to have a license?

A1: For any edged tool with blade length longer than 15 centimetres you need a license. A license may be required also for any edged tool with blade length longer than 6 centimetres (or 5.5 centimetres in case of automatic knives) if they are considered to have clear possiblity of being used as edged weapons.

So far the "15cm rule" has been in common use, and anything shorter could be purchased and possessed without much trouble. Now the police wants to see if anything inbetween 6 and 15 (most of the knives we have fit in this category) has this 'clear possiblity' of weapons usage, hence calling people in.


Q2: Can I carry a knife if I have a license for it?

A2: The license is for possession of a knife, not carrying one. Therefore carrying a knife with blade longer than 6cm is illegal. Also, if an edged tool with a blade shorter than 6cm is used to inflict physical damage to a person, there is a greater chance that the tool might end up being judged as illegal weapon. Only exception is to carry an edged tool for professional purposes.


I'll keep updating this thread with actual cases that I can pick up as things unfold. One thing quite certain is that things are getting messier for most of the innocent Korean knife collectors.

Tip for my BB fellows who might be travelling to SK: even though it is very unlikely to be searched by a police officer on the street (especially if you look like a foreigner), please bring either SAK or Leatherman/Gerber multitools to minimize the possibility of unnecessary hassle at the airport. Cheers.
 
i remember reading that post some time ago. Places like Korea and Japan, you have to treat like New York City, and not make it obvious if you are carry any kind of knife, and as far as owning, it's not something you want blatantly known.

Every summer that i've gone back i've brought a couple of my edc's and a fixed blade for when i go hiking in the mountains. And one time i had bought my father some kitchen cutlery. I've not had a problem having them in my check in, and the one time i sent my gf a knife. Military address would be safer, but again, just don't have it blatant that you're shipping a knife(ves) to korea, or owning one while there.

Los Angeles- if you haven't sent the knife yet, i could help you in bringing it there. I'm travelling there again in 3 weeks, and i can just pack it up in my check in with my others. If you're interested you can pm me. I'm driving up to LAX this sat to pick up a friend as well. cheers
 
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