Incheon Airport Liquid Limit 2026: 100ml Rule, Checked-Baggage Steps, Up to ₩13,500 Lost

Almost every day, the same scene plays out at the security checkpoint in the departure hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport. A foreign tourist who packed a toner or sunscreen bought in Myeongdong or at Olive Young — Korea's leading health-and-beauty retail chain — into a carry-on bag, rather than checked luggage, has to open the bag right there and give up the product, simply because the container holds more than 100 milliliters.

At a glance: under Incheon International Airport Corporation rules, liquids allowed in carry-on bags are limited to containers of 100ml or less each, and all such containers together must fit in a single transparent zip bag no larger than 1 liter (with combined side lengths under 40cm). The only exception is duty-free purchases sealed in a tamper-evident bag (STEB); products bought at ordinary stores like Olive Young or K-beauty roadshops do not qualify. Confiscated items are donated to welfare organizations by the airport, and there is no way to get them back later.

The limit is based on the capacity printed on the container, not how much liquid is actually left inside. Even if a lotion labeled 150ml is more than half used, leaving only about 70ml, the bottle is still barred from carry-on. Checked baggage, by contrast, has almost no volume limit, so it's safer to pack large-size products there from the start.

The catch is that many of Korea's most popular skincare products come in 150ml to 300ml bottles. Round Lab's '1025 Dokdo Toner,' for instance, sells for 13,500 won for a 200ml bottle — and carrying that bottle in a cabin bag as-is can mean losing the money you just spent, right at the security line. Tourists who do most of their shopping on the last day of the trip are especially likely to get caught out by this rule.

The restriction applies only to international departures, not domestic flights. The safest approach is to move large-size cosmetics into checked luggage before check-in, or check the bag containing them outright. Questions can be directed to the Incheon Airport Customer Center at 1577-2600.