Carrying cash in South Korea/Laos
 

I was trying to understand how much cash I can carry with me during a trip to Laos that will be switching airlines in Incheon International airport. I have read numerous different answers to this question. On one hand I read that there is that there is no limit to the amount of cash you bring into Laos but you need to declare anything over 100,000,000 Kip (about 5K US). I also read on the US state dept site that there is a limit of $2500 on what you can bring with you. Not sure what is the real answer. Also, do I need to declare in South Korea? I'll only be in the airport but must claim bags and recheck them. Thanks for your help.

Brian

Not sure what your intentions are, but if you're a normal tourist doing normal touristy things, ATMs and credit cards are widely available in these countries, and carrying such large amounts of cash has obvious huge risks. I don't know the answer to your actual question and these are quite specific questions that any experienced normal traveler is unlikely to know.

Assuming you go through immigration in Seoul rather than stay in the transit area. you need to declare cash over the equivalent $10k US. In Laos you can take unlimited amounts of cash in though you need to declare anything over $2k US. In Laos be aware that many border officials are corrupt and frequently ask for bribes for some infringement , real or imaginary.

PS Why you would want to take large amounts of cash there is beyond me. V risky especially as Laos now has a reasonably well functioning ATM network.

Whatever you do, I suggest that you take Two different debit cards if you plan to use ATMs, and let your banks know your plans. It is not totally unheard of for certain cards to not work. You can also pull cash with credit cards; expensive, but it works in a pinch. That said, I haven't had issues getting cash from any countries in Asia since long before COViD, and most shops and hotels in even small cities take credit cards now.
Now if you're planning to move there or buy contraband there, you need to ask on a forum other than Fodor's!

You only need to declare the cash you bring into South Korea if it exceeds $10,000. But the country is so card friendly. No need to bring ton of cash when traveling to Korea. You Visa/Master cards should suffice.

Why do you want to declare anything ? Moreover, you are going to travel with over 10 000$ cash in your pocket ? Nobody is going to search you and, even if they did, I can assure you that they are very happy that you are loaded with money.