Page 35 - South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures

We recommend checking with the State Department for medication restrictions by country:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-
Country-Information-Pages.html. (Pick the country and then follow the links to “Local Laws
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can presume major U.S. brands should be OK).

Bringing Medications to South Korea

At time of writing, the State Department had detailed instructions about bringing medications
into South Korea. We encourage you to read the entire post online, but here are the key points:

• Prescription medications containing narcotics and/or amphetamines are not permitted
without a “bring-in permit letter” that must be obtained in advance from the Ministry
of Food and Drug Safety. Over-the-counter amphetamines are illegal to bring into
South Korea.

• For prescription medications not containing narcotics or amphetamines, travelers are
allowed to bring up to six bottles of medication (a three month supply) for personal
use. All medications must be accompanied by the original prescriptions, a letter from
your doctor specifying the medical condition being treated with the prescriptions, and
a statement from your doctor listing the medications that you will be bringing into
South Korea.

• For more information on whether or not you will be allowed to bring the particular
medication into South Korea, you could consult the U.S. Embassy Seoul website at http://
seoul.usembassy.gov/acs_health.html.

Bringing Medications to Japan

At time of writing, the Japanese embassy had detailed instructions about bringing medications
into Japan on their website, www.us.emb-japan.go.jp. We encourage you to read the entire
post online, but here are the key points:

• You can generally bring up to one month’s supply of prescription medicine into Japan,
and up to two months’ supply of over-the-counter medications

• Some over-the-counter medicines commonly used in the United States are illegal in
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that contain stimulants (medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, such as Actifed,
Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers) or codeine are prohibited.

• For prescription medications, you must bring a copy of your doctor’s prescription as well
as a letter stating the purpose of the drug. However, some U.S. prescription medications
(such as Adderall) cannot be brought into Japan, even with a copy of the prescription.

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