Right destination-port advice, indicative rates and real transit times for 5 main port pairs: HCM/HP → Busan, Incheon, Pyeongtaek
Reply within 4 working hours · free advice on destination port + C/O form
Public market rate ranges for 4 container types — contact ShipAsia for an accurate quote by shipment + booking time.
Cat Lai → Busan New Port · Transit 8-10 days · 4-5 sailings/week
Cat Lai → Incheon (near Seoul) · Transit 10-12 days · 2-3 sailings/week
Haiphong → Busan New Port · Transit 5-7 days · 2-3 direct sailings/week
⚠️ Public market rate ranges for late 2025-early 2026, excluding port charges + LSS + BAF/CAF + peak-season surcharge. Rates change with space availability, fuel fluctuation and booking time. Contact ShipAsia for an accurate quote for your specific shipment.
$800M · wood + coffee + cashew
40'GP/HC · Phyto + ICO + ISPM-15
$620M · pangasius/shrimp/squid
40'RF · Q3-Q1 · NAFIQAD + MFDS
$3.5B · 13.8% of exports
40'HC · Year-round · VK form
$4.2B · 16% of exports
40'HC · Q2-Q3 · VK C/O form
$5.7B · 22% of exports
40'HC · Q3-Q4 · VK C/O form
Many slot agreements between carriers → flexible spot space when volumes are high.
2-3 sailings/week; some routes transship via Busan.
2-3 direct sailings/week, ~3,000 nautical miles, transit 2-3 days shorter than HCM.
4-5 direct sailings/week + extra calls via Cai Mep for feeder cargo.
Customer: a mid-size garment company, first time exporting to Korea via the HCM-Busan lane.
Problem: The booking was made and the goods reached Busan, but the Korean importer could not claim the 0% garment duty because the AK C/O form (5%) was chosen instead of VK (0%) → losing 5% of the shipment value.
We advise from the booking stage — for VN→Korea goods meeting 40% RVC from Vietnam, use the VK C/O form (VKFTA) for a deeper preference than AKFTA. We prepare the C/O via eCoSys in 1-3 days and courier the original by DHL in time for the vessel.
Customer: a frozen-seafood exporter shipping to Busan.
Problem: Booking in Q4 (near Korean Tet — reefer peak), the carrier reported no 40'RF space and the frozen cargo waited >10 days in storage → higher storage costs and quality risk.
We recommend booking RF 4-6 weeks before the peak. If space is tight, ShipAsia arranges a split shipment (60% sailing A, 40% sailing B) to reduce waiting risk and keep the supply chain stable.
Customer: a wood-furniture company chose Busan to save $50/cont, but the final warehouse was in the Seoul area.
Problem: Saving $50 in ocean freight but incurring $300-400 in trucking Busan → Seoul (~400km) + a 1-2 day delay → higher total cost than via Incheon.
We analyse door-to-door by the final customer location — for Seoul-area customers, Incheon or Pyeongtaek is cheaper overall even if ocean freight is $50-100/cont higher.
Korean Tet (Jan-Feb) + Chuseok (Q3) spike reefer demand. Reefer needs booking 4-6 weeks ahead (not 2 weeks like dry cargo). Book early to lock in space + rate.
Skip pre-cool and the core temperature won't be reached on arrival in Busan → Korea's MFDS may reject it at the port → costly roll-back or destruction.
SI / VGM / C/O cut-offs are usually 24-36h before the load cut-off. Miss the SI = rolled to the next sailing even if the container is packed. Schedule documents before booking.
VKFTA (bilateral VN-Korea) gives a deeper preference than AKFTA (multilateral ASEAN-Korea). Only use AK when materials accumulated from several ASEAN countries don't meet 40% RVC from Vietnam.
North Seoul customers → Incheon. South Seoul/Suwon → Pyeongtaek. Busan/Ulsan/Daegu → Busan. Wrong port = $200-500/cont lost on Korea inland trucking.
| Lane | SI cut-off | Transit (sea) | Total door-to-port KR | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HCM (Cat Lai) → Busan | Mon by 12:00 | 8-10 days | 9-11 days | 4-5 sailings/week |
| HCM → Incheon | Tue by 12:00 | 10-12 days | 11-13 days | 2-3 sailings/week |
| HP (Tan Vu/Dinh Vu) → Busan | Wed by 12:00 | 5-7 days | 6-8 days | 2-3 direct/week |
| HP → Incheon | Wed by 12:00 | 7-9 days | 8-10 days | 2 sailings/week |
| HCM/HP → Pyeongtaek | flexible | 9-12 days | 10-13 days | 1-2 sailings/week* |
* Pyeongtaek usually has transshipment sailings via Busan. Contact ShipAsia to confirm direct or transship for your specific shipment.
Low season (Q2) is usually 20-35% cheaper than peak (Q4). Peak Q4 — near Korean Tet plus year-end stocking — makes space hard to book, especially reefer.
For steady exporters we recommend a quarterly/annual contract to lock the rate against volatility. Contact ShipAsia for a framework contract suited to your volume.
Daegu is ~120km from Busan and ~280km from Incheon. Busan saves both ocean freight and Korean inland trucking.
Door-to-door is about $250-400/cont (40′) cheaper than Incheon. Rule of thumb: customers around Busan/Ulsan/Daegu/Gimhae → Busan; Seoul/Incheon/Suwon → Incheon; Pyeongtaek/Suwon/Ansan → Pyeongtaek.
In 90% of cases use the VK C/O form (VKFTA) — 0% import duty on most garment HS codes.
Form AK (AKFTA) often still carries 5%. Only use AK when many inputs come from other ASEAN countries and don’t meet 40% RVC from Vietnam for VKFTA. ShipAsia prepares the C/O via eCoSys in 1-3 days and couriers the original by DHL in time for the vessel.
This is reefer peak (Korean Tet in Jan-Feb). Three main risks:
ShipAsia recommends split shipments + early booking to reduce risk and keep the supply chain stable.
A 6-step full-service process:
Get a quote in 4 hours + free advice on the right port + a complete VK C/O form
See detailed rates, transit time, cut-off and top 3 industries for each port pair (5 pairs)
