A Korean rental form in which the tenant places a very large lump-sum deposit with the landlord instead of paying monthly rent, refunded at the end of the term. There is no British equivalent, and many relocation packages do not touch it.

Why does housing affect the removals plan?

Because the housing arrangement decides when keys are available, and that date rather than the sailing is what the delivery hangs on. Ask your employer specifically which form the housing is taking.

What is an external lift delivery?

A ladder hoist taking goods in through a balcony or window rather than up the stairs. It is standard practice in Korean apartment blocks and it is arranged and quoted in advance.

Will our furniture fit?

In the room, usually. Through the entrance and the lift, not always. We measure the building rather than the room and tell you what will not get in before you ship it.

Does the timing of our own arrival matter?

Yes. The duty relief is tied to a window relative to when you enter the country, so the sequence of flights and sailings is part of the planning rather than an afterthought.

Do you advise on the housing contract?

No. Nothing here is legal, tax or immigration advice. A Korean lease is a matter for your employer's advisers or your own.

London to South Korea

Removals from London to South Korea

Mostly employer-assisted, and the thing that catches British families out is not customs. It is the Korean housing system, which asks for money and commitments in a shape that nothing in Britain prepares you for.

The word to look up before you move is jeonse. Then check whether your package touches it.

Who moves this way from London

People relocating to Seoul for work, frequently in technology, finance, manufacturing or education.
Academics and teachers on fixed-term contracts, usually with modest consignments.
Families joining a partner already in post, often into company-arranged housing.

How the goods travel

By sea in a container, or by air for a small urgent consignment. Given the housing timing on this route, air allowances for immediate necessities are more useful here than on most corridors and worth asking your employer about.

From Busan or Incheon, onward delivery is fast and well organised. The constraint is the building at the far end — Korean apartment blocks have their own move-in procedures and, in many cases, an external lift is the normal method of delivery.

Where we deliver

Seoul — Gangnam and the south High-rise apartments with strict move-in booking and external lift use.

Seoul — Yongsan and the centre Long-established international housing with mixed building types.

Incheon and Songdo Newer development, port proximity, generally excellent access.

Busan Major port and a steep city. Access varies sharply between districts.

Daejeon and the research cities Academic and technical postings, with newer apartment stock.

Customs, and who obtains what

South Korea permits duty-free import of used household goods on a transfer of residence, declared against a detailed inventory and supported by evidence of your residence status. The process is orderly. The controlled list requires attention, and the timing of your own arrival matters to the relief.

The file, split in two

Document	Obtained by	What it is
Detailed valued inventory	Us	Item by item, in English and Korean where required, prepared before shipping.
Alien registration card	You	Issued after arrival. Much of the process depends on it, so it sits early on the critical path.
Passport and visa	You	The status under which you are entering. Immigration advice is not ours to give.
Proof of the Korean address	You	Lease documentation for the apartment you are moving into.
Evidence of your own arrival	You	The relief is tied to a window relative to when you enter the country.
Export and import entries	Us	Lodged by us or our appointed agent against the inventory.

Rows marked You are attached to you as a person and take real time to obtain — start them before anybody books a sailing. Rows marked Us are built here from the inventory taken at the survey.

Jeonse, wolse, and why the housing decides everything

Korean renting works in two forms. Wolse is monthly rent with a deposit, which is recognisable. Jeonse is the one to understand: instead of monthly rent, the tenant places a very large lump-sum deposit with the landlord for the term, and gets it back at the end. It is an enormous commitment of capital and it has no British equivalent at all.

Why this belongs on a removals page: the housing arrangement decides when you can take possession, and therefore when a container can be delivered. Where an employer is handling housing, ask specifically what form it is taking and when keys are available — that date, not the sailing, is the one your move plan hangs on.

And check whether the relocation package touches housing deposits at all. Many do not, in either form, and a family discovering that late has a genuine problem that no removals firm can solve.

The building itself is the second subject. Korean apartment blocks commonly require a move-in booking with the management office, and delivery by external lift — a ladder hoist to a balcony or window — is completely standard rather than exceptional. It is arranged in advance and quoted in advance.

Finally the dimensions. Apartment lifts and entrances are sized for the local furniture market, and large British wardrobes, corner sofas and dining tables frequently do not pass. We measure the building rather than the room and tell you before you ship what will not get in. Nothing here is legal, tax or immigration advice.