🍾 Can you bring Alcohol (wine, whisky, spirits) on a plane?

Checked only (5L limit for 24–70% ABV)

As of 2026-08-25

The rule in detail

Drinks at 24% ABV or below (beer, wine, makgeolli) have no volume limit in checked baggage. Above 24% and up to 70% ABV (whisky, soju, vodka) is capped at 5L per person, in unopened retail packaging. Anything over 70% ABV is banned from both the cabin and checked baggage. The liquids rule still applies in the cabin, so only containers of 100ml or less get through — duty-free bottles may be carried on only while the security-sealed (STEB) bag is intact.

Why the rule is written this way

It is classified as Allowed with conditions — check the rules because capacity, shape and quantity decide whether it passes, so the same object can be confiscated on one trip and not the next.

Measure it yourself before you leave, and if it is borderline ask the airline and keep the answer in writing. At the checkpoint the final call is the security officer’s.

The rules this verdict comes from

The verdict above follows from 3 Korean rules listed below, named in the original Korean because that is how they are indexed at the national law database. These are the rules themselves, not an airline summary — when screening staff disagree, this is the text that decides. Rules are amended; anything changed after the review date above follows the original.

• 항공보안법 — 국토교통부
• 항공위험물운송기술기준 — 국토교통부 고시
• 여행자 및 승무원 휴대품 통관에 관한 고시 — 관세청 고시

What actually happens at the airport

1. Check-in desk — this is the point of no return for your suitcase. Anything that may only travel in the cabin cannot be retrieved after this step.
2. Security screening — if the X-ray flags a shape, the bag is opened. Most problem items are caught here.
3. Extra check at the gate — on some routes there is one more inspection.

Confiscated items are rarely returned. If you are unsure, confirm the specification before you leave home.

Other items in the same class

The items below are also classified as Allowed with conditions — check the rules. Quantity and volume limits differ per item, so check each rule separately.

Travel guides that cover this rule

1 travel guide on this site covers this rule as well. What usually goes wrong is not the rule itself but what surrounds it — where the form is filed, whether the destination bans the item outright, what to do first at the airport.

• 🇯🇵 Japan’s 10% consumption tax refund and how discount-store coupons stack

Frequently asked questions

Alcohol (wine, whisky, spirits) — can I take it in the cabin?

Checked only (5L limit for 24–70% ABV). Drinks at 24% ABV or below (beer, wine, makgeolli) have no volume limit in checked baggage. Above 24% and up to 70% ABV (whisky, soju, vodka) is capped at 5L per person, in unopened retail packaging. Anything over 70% ABV is banned from both the cabin and checked baggage. The liquids rule still applies in the cabin, so only containers of 100ml or less get through — duty-free bottles may be carried on only while the security-sealed (STEB) bag is intact.

Alcohol (wine, whisky, spirits) — can I put it in checked baggage?

It depends — Checked only (5L limit for 24–70% ABV). Volume, quantity, shape or a declaration can change the answer, so settle that before you check the bag.

Is there anything else to watch out for with Alcohol (wine, whisky, spirits)?

What you may carry and what passes customs duty-free are two different limits — on arrival in Korea the allowance is 2 litres and US$400 in total, with no limit on the number of bottles

Worth checking at the same time

• 🧴 Liquids / gels / cosmetics — Cabin: 100ml or less / checked: no limit
• 🌸 Perfume — Cabin: 100ml max / checked: 2L per person

The items people look up most

• 🔋 Power bank / lithium-ion battery — Cabin only (never checked)
• 🧴 Liquids / gels / cosmetics — Cabin: 100ml or less / checked: no limit
• 🔌 Corded hair straightener / hairdryer — Yes (cabin and checked)

✅ See the packing lists by destination