Going to Korea...hoping to dive!

[wittnam]

Hello all,

I found out last month that I'm getting orders to South Korea, and wanted to get an idea of the diving there. I'm going to be stationed at Osan. I tried to search the forums to see if anything was posted, but the only thread I could find was stated in 2002. I found the site scubainkorea.com and got a little info there as well.

Also, I'm a relatively new diver and am looking at getting some gear (all I have of my own now is snorkeling/wetsuit). I thought I read somewhere in my research that I might want to think about taking my own gear over there. Does anyone have any insight/suggestions? Should I buy here in the states and take it with me or are there enough dealers over there to find some good stuff.

Any insight is appreciated...

 

[jiveturkey]

You're better off getting your gear in the US. There's a huge markup on gear in korea. HUGE! I dive there regularly but I work there. I don't think anyone would go there just to dive. The main dive sites are on the east and south coasts or on Cheju Island. Vis in the range of 0-15 meters but 15 would be very rare. I mostly see 4-6m but I dive mostly on the east coast. Most diving is done through clubs where you pay a fee and your transportation, food and diving is all included.

If you have any specific questions, send me a pm or fire away. Michael Jones at Scubainkorea is a good guy and a good source of info too.

 

[Hoosier]

I am not sure when Greg left Korea though. Many things have been changed. You know Korea is a very dynamic country

You can get the gear almost at the same price thanks to many importing businesses from US market like LeisurePro. There is no "free part" program outside of US, so it doesn't matter whether you got the gear from the authorized dealer or not. That is, there is no punishment even though you got it from non-authorized dealer. There are many technician (I mean in Seoul) The annual service charge is about $70~$80 including all parts. The used market is also very attractive if you find any Korean friend to help you over there. The used price is almost half from the new one no matter how long and how many times the previous owners have used. Just out of curiosity, you are using APO (CA) address, aren't you? Why are you worring about a shopping the gear in Korea? Greg is an English teacher so he can't use APO address officially....

As for the site. you only can dive at the south part all year around. The water temp isn't cold though. 5mm is most popular wetsuit choice. DS isn't that much popular so that the diving season used to be ended from November. And, the water condition fluctates so quickly. Yeah, the winter is definately a ski season, not diving in Korea. However, you can dive all year around in Cheju island (where is regarded as a Korean Hawaii). The divng busines is so competitive over there, so you have to join the club and keep your eyes open to get a good promotion deal.... Yes, there are many good deals only for the club and group... This charter is owned by a german guy. http://www.bigblue33.co.kr/. It is worth to check it out. But, the price is a little bit higher than any Korean charters in Cheju. For example, It was only $10 per a boat dive last October. I am not sure if you could get the same deal from the foreigner owned charter.

Another big hassle will be a communication problem. So, many foreigner divers are only looking for the foreigner based clubs and charters. They are usually behind for the local news.. So, try to find local Korean dive buddy who can communicate...
Otherwise, your life will be monotonous...

WHEN IN ROME, FOLLOW THE ROME RULE

 

[jiveturkey]

Hoosier,
Have you ever had something sent from Leisurepro to korea? Did you have to pay duties or any customs taxes?

 

[Hoosier]

Hoosier,
Have you ever had something sent from Leisurepro to korea? Did you have to pay duties or any customs taxes?

You have to pay the tax (about 20% as I recalled) more than $150 including a shipping charge. But, it is totally depending on LP's paper works....

In addition, APO address can't be touched by Korean custom because it is considered as US territory as you may know.

Here is story how the gear price is lower than before. There are the authorized dealer for each manufactures, such as ScubaPro, Aqualung, Sunnto, etc.... Their price is almost 2.5 times higher than US market because of a tax and their rip-off policy. So, there are a lot of demending about the lower price in the market. Thanks to an outstanding IT environment, Korean customers can find out the foreign market prices. So, some importers started the business to get the gear directly from US dealer (possibly CA or NY dive shops). Sometimes, it is so funny to read that many members are complaining about LP's gear sources from EU because US dealers are doing the same thing to other countries.

Moreover, you must be confused with my previous post. There are many dive shops that are doing business like LP in Korea...

 

[Koreanfrogger]

If you want to find a local club you may want to try Suwon Scuba Club at www.suwon-scuba.com A little further away but just as good is Deep Blue Quest at www.deepbluequest.com