How to Send a Package in Korea (Post Office & Store)

There’s a post office two blocks from my restaurant in Mapo, and one slow Tuesday I spent my entire lunch break there helping a regular — a design student from Lyon — mail a care package to her mom. She’d been carrying the thing in her backpack for over a week, too intimidated to walk in alone. Ten minutes later it was on its way to France, and she couldn’t believe she’d waited so long. If you’ve been putting off sending something for the same reason, this is for you: how to send a package in Korea is genuinely simple once you know your two options.

Option 1: The Post Office (우체국)

The post office (우체국, u-che-guk), run by Korea Post, is the reliable all-rounder. You bring your item, they weigh it, and it goes door-to-door anywhere in the country — usually within a day or two. It’s also your route for international shipping: ask about EMS for sending things abroad, which is what the student and I used for her France-bound box.

A few practical notes from having done this more times than I can count: you can bring your own box or buy packaging right there, the counter staff handle the waybill, and Domestic parcel prices vary depending on the carrier, service type, size, weight, and destination, so check the current rate before sending. If you’re mailing overseas, bring the recipient’s full address written out clearly.

Option 2: Convenience Store Parcels (편의점 택배) — and the Cheap Hack

Here’s what a lot of foreigners never discover: you can send parcels straight from a convenience store, often more cheaply than the post office, and they’re open at all hours.

The money-saver is store-to-store delivery — GS25 calls it 반값택배 (ban-gap taek-bae, “half-price parcel”), and CU has its own version. The catch is that it goes from one convenience store to another, so your recipient picks it up at their local branch rather than having it delivered to their door. It’s slower, but it can cost roughly a third of a regular parcel — I use it constantly for sending things to friends who don’t mind a short walk to collect them.

If you’d rather have it delivered to the door, convenience stores also offer standard door-delivery parcels for a bit more. Either way, you fill out a slip at the counter or a small kiosk, and staff take it from there.

Prepaid or Pay-on-Delivery?

One choice you’ll be asked to make: who pays. 선불 (seon-bul) means you, the sender, pay now. 착불 (chak-bul) means the recipient pays when it arrives. For gifts you’ll usually go prepaid; for business or agreed arrangements, 착불 is common. Just tell the staff which you want.

The Phrases That Get It Done

• I’d like to send a parcel → 택배 보내려고요 (taek-bae bo-nae-ryeo-go-yo)
• Prepaid, please → 선불이요 (seon-bul-i-yo)
• Pay-on-delivery, please → 착불로 해주세요 (chak-bul-lo hae-ju-se-yo)
• Do you have a box? → 박스 있어요? (bak-seu i-sseo-yo?)
• How long will it take? → 얼마나 걸려요? (eol-ma-na geol-lyeo-yo?)
• How do I send this internationally? → 국제로 보내려면 어떻게 해요? (guk-je-ro bo-nae-ryeo-myeon eo-tteo-ke hae-yo?)

Lead with “택배 보내려고요,” and the staff will walk you through the rest — they do this hundreds of times a day.

A Few Things Worth Knowing

A handful of small details save you trouble, and I’ve learned most of them the hard way running deliveries for the restaurant.

Track it with the waybill number. Whatever method you use, you’ll get a 운송장 번호 (waybill/tracking number). Keep the little slip — you (or your recipient) can track the parcel’s progress with it, which is reassuring for anything valuable or heading overseas.

Pack it properly. Korean couriers move fast and stack hard. If you’re sending anything breakable, say so and pad it well; you can ask for “에어캡 있어요?” (do you have bubble wrap?) at many post offices and stationery shops. A flimsy box that splits in transit is the most common mailing regret I see.

Mind the timing. Around major holidays like Seollal and Chuseok (명절), the whole delivery network is swamped and parcels slow to a crawl. If something needs to arrive by a certain date near a holiday, send it several days early — the couriers are genuinely buried during those weeks.

Weigh your options by distance. For a small, light item going to a friend across town who doesn’t mind collecting it, the convenience-store half-price route is unbeatable. For something heavy, urgent, or headed to someone’s door, the post office earns its slightly higher price.

A Couple of Quick Answers

What’s the cheapest way to send a package in Korea?
GS25’s 반값택배 (half-price parcel) or CU’s equivalent, if your recipient is fine picking it up at their local convenience store. It’s noticeably cheaper than door delivery.

Can I send things internationally from a Korean post office?
Yes — ask about EMS at the counter. Bring the full recipient address written clearly.

That student in Lyon-turned-Mapo now sends packages home from the GS25 by her place without a second thought. The intimidating part was never the process — it was just not knowing which counter to walk up to. Now you do.