Ferries to Korea's islands

The booking site moved, and search results still point at the old one

Korea's coastal ferry network is booked centrally by the Korea Shipping Association (한국해운조합), and its portal has changed address. The former booking site — Islands You Want to Visit (가보고싶은섬) — now displays only the notice "가보고싶은섬 예매서비스가 종료되었습니다", the booking service has closed, and a link out. The working site is KSA ferry booking (KSA 여객선 예매) at island.theksa.co.kr, which carries a KR / EN / JP language switch, covers roughly 250 island destinations from Busan to Ulleungdo, and takes bookings without an account. Its optional data fields include whether you are a foreign national (외국인 여부) and passport number (여권번호), so visitors can enter their passenger details. Phone support runs 06:00–19:00 on 02-6096-2266.

Two big Jeju operators sell direct and are worth going to first, because they publish live sailing status their aggregator does not:

Booking on Hanil Express's own site takes 5% off the passenger fare but closes on the day of sailing — same-day travel means the terminal counter. Its booking form asks for your name, sex, date of birth exactly as printed on your identity document, and a contact number.

The passport rule

The Marine Transportation Act, article 21-2 (해운법 제21조의2), rewritten in January 2015 in the wake of the Sewol disaster and readable in full in the consolidated statute, is blunt. Every passenger must be issued a boarding ticket carrying their name; the operator must demand an identity document and check it against what is printed on that ticket; and where the passenger does not produce one, or the ticket is false, the operator must refuse boarding. The passenger manifest is then kept for three months. Bring an accepted identity document even if you already have a booking confirmation.

Hanil Express publishes the full list of documents it accepts. For a foreign passenger these are: an in-date passport, a residence card (외국인등록증, including the mobile version), an overseas-Korean residence report card, an International Driving Permit, an overseas or international student card, a permanent-residence card, or a US-forces identity card. Two warnings on the same page catch people out:

• "사진 및 캡쳐된 신분증은 인정되지 않습니다" — a photograph or a screenshot of your document is not an identity document, and you will not board on one. Carry the physical passport.
• Staff can refuse to issue your ticket if you cannot show an accepted identity document. The check may happen at the ticket window.

Daezer Ferry's own fare page (대저페리) says the same thing and cites the statute directly: "신분증 미지참시 해운법에 의거하여 승선이 거부될 수 있으며" — come without an identity document and boarding may be refused under the Marine Transportation Act.

Rough seas can cancel your crossing

Coastal sailings are suspended on a 풍랑주의보 — a heavy-seas advisory — and the Weather Act Enforcement Decree, schedule 1 (기상법 시행령 별표 1) sets that at a wind speed of 14 m/s (50.4 km/h) at sea sustained for three hours or more, or a significant wave height of 3 m or more. The warning tier is 21 m/s or 5 m waves. Those are ordinary conditions on the East Sea in winter and around the south-western islands in a typhoon summer. The live picture comes from the Korea Meteorological Administration (기상청), from the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority's sailing-status service (한국해양교통안전공단) and from each operator's own daily sailing bulletin — Seaworld's front page marks individual sailings 결항 (cancelled) alongside others running normally.

The booking terms explain which refunds apply when a sailing is cancelled. Where the ship cannot sail for a reason outside the carrier's control, such as weather, you get your fare back in full before departure, and the cancellation must be arranged through the operator, not the booking site. Do not assume that a fare refund covers your extra accommodation or guarantees a seat on the next sailing. Ask the operator how to rebook and what its cancellation terms cover.

The picture is different when the fault is the ship's. A mechanical failure before departure returns your fare plus 10%; being carried back to the port you started from returns it plus 20%. A delay of 50% or more over the scheduled crossing time refunds 10% of the fare, and a delay of 100% or more refunds 20% — though none of that applies to crossings scheduled at an hour or less.

If you cancel your own booking, the fee depends on how close you are to departure. Read the cancellation table shown for your ticket before paying; passenger and vehicle bookings may have different charges.

Leave at least one spare day between your return ferry and a flight you cannot miss. A longer buffer may be sensible during unsettled weather, particularly for an exposed crossing such as Ulleungdo.

What it costs, and what you can take

Fares are per route rather than per kilometre. Pohang to Ulleungdo, a three-hour crossing on the open East Sea, runs at ₩69,500 for an adult on the Sunrise (썬라이즈) (₩76,300 in the peak season), or ₩81,000 / ₩121,500 / ₩171,500 for economy, business and first on the larger Eldorado Express (엘도라도 익스프레스). Islanders pay ₩7,000. Fuel surcharges sit on top and terminal fees are already included.

Hanil Express publishes bicycle-loading instructions for its Jeju services. You buy a bicycle loading ticket (자전거 선적권) at ₩3,000 per bicycle at the ticket window, tag the bike, and carry it aboard yourself no later than 30 minutes before departure; an electric bike is only accepted below 50% charge. Cars must be checked in by the same 30-minute deadline, and the operator advises arriving an hour before. Very low or modified cars — under about 15 cm of clearance — are refused outright.

Foreign visitors can qualify for the Badaro ferry discount pass. The Badaro (바다로) pass, sold on the national booking site, costs ₩7,900 for a year and is explicitly for Korean and foreign nationals alike (내·외국인) aged 26 to 35, giving 50% or more off weekday fares and 20% or more at weekends, up to twelve journeys and a maximum of three on any one route. The 2026–27 pass runs 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027 and is switched off during the summer and holiday rushes (25 July – 10 August 2026, and the Chuseok (the Korean autumn harvest holiday, the year's other big family break) and Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year, the biggest family holiday of the year) weeks). Your name on the pass must match the identity document you show at the gate.

Check the route and crossing time for your island

• Pohang or Mukho → Ulleungdo. This route crosses open water to a volcanic island. The crossing time and seasonal schedule depend on the vessel, and rough seas can cause cancellations.
• Mokpo → Hongdo and Heuksando (흑산도). These routes reach islands known for sea cliffs within the south-western archipelago.
• Incheon → Baengnyeongdo (백령도), Deokjeokdo (덕적도), Jawoldo (자월도). These islands are reached from Incheon, but they are not equally close. Baengnyeongdo is about four hours away by ferry and lies near the northern maritime boundary.
• Mokpo, Jindo, Wando or Yeosu → Jeju. Some ferries carry vehicles. Confirm the route, loading arrangements and availability if you want to bring a car.
• Moseulpo (모슬포) → Gapado (가파도) and Marado (마라도), Seongsan (성산) → Udo (우도). These are short crossings from Jeju to smaller neighbouring islands.