Ocean freight shipping to South Korea

This Asian tiger experienced enviable economic growth during the 30 years after the Korean War, thanks, in part, to excellent management of investments coming from the US and Japan, two of its most important trading partners. Ocean freight to South Korea is tremendously important, as the country imports more than half a billion dollars of goods from all over the world.

South Korea is the second-greatest world power in terms of naval capabilities, which points to the importance of foreign trade, one of the principal motors of the country’s economy, along with the textile industry, steel, automobiles, chemicals, and, particularly, electronics.

Low unemployment levels, sustained growth even in times of crisis, and a per-capita GDP that places it as the twelfth-largest economy in the world make ocean freight to South Korea a leading option for exports to Asia.

FCL or LCL for your ocean freight to South Korea

When you hire ocean freight to South Korea, you will have two standard options, between which you should choose based on the nature of your shipment: full container (FCL) or groupage (LCL).

FCL is ideal for those dealing with shipment volumes of 11 to 25 Europallets (each Europallet having a dimension of 1.2m x 0.8m) or 10 or 21 american pallets, as these are the maximum capacities of the 20-foot and 40-foot containers respectively. This will allow you the greatest cost-efficiency in shipping a container to South Korea. Shipping a full container, as well, will allow you to safeguard the integrity of your goods, avoiding any possibly damage or contamination that may arise as a consequence of contact with other exporters’ goods.

You should know that there are available or you can pack your shipment using two types of pallets: Standard or American pallet (1.2m/47 ¼” X 1m/39 3⁄8”) and Euro (1.2m/47 ¼” X .8m/31 ½”). It is important to know which pallets you are using and if your cargo is stackable in order to calculate your shipping charge.

On the other hand, groupage will be your most viable option if the volume of your shipment does not approach at least half of the maximim capacity of a full container. LCL involves sharing a container with other exporters in a way that allows each one to pay only for the space he or she uses.

Consult our rates on iContainers to determine the details of your shipment of containers to South Korea.

Ocean freight ports in South Korea

South Korea is ranked in the Top 5 in Doing Business, which has encouraged many businesses to invest in exporting their products to this country. Foreign trade easily exceeds a billion dollars, an enormous part of which is conducted via ocean freight, motivated by the fact that the South Korean coast supports an important network of ports: Busan, Gwangyang, Incheon and Seoul.

Port of Busan

The port of Busan is located at the mouth of the Naktong River, in the city of Busan, and is the entry hub to northeast Asia. It is administered by the BPA (Port Authority of Busan) and is responsible for the management of 40 percent of the country’s maritime exports and 80 percent of its container transit. As well, it is an important fishing port, and features two international passenger terminals, one of which was opened in 2015.

The port’s advanced and ample infrastructure have elevated it to one of the most important commercial ports in the world. It has the capacity to accommodate 169 ships at once, thanks to its six container terminals, distributed throughout the North port, the South port, the Gamcheon port and the Dadapo port. Traffic excedes 20 million TEUs annually, stored and managed over a space of 840,000 square metres.

→ Ship container to Busan

Our ocean freight services to South Korea

At iContainers, you may find efficient, affordable, and professional ocean freight services for your merchandise to South Korea ports all over the world. These include ports located in:

• USA
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Germany
• Belgium
• Mexico
• Dominican Republic
• China
• Taiwan
• UAE

What our ocean freight rates to South Korea include

For more information, consult ship container rates for your ocean freight to South Korea here.