Neither water nor shampoo: This is the product that airport authorities confiscated 11 tons of

The checklist detailing which items can’t be taken onto a plane, either as carry-on or in hold luggage is quite clear. Travelers are also routinely asked at check-in whether they have anything they shouldn’t in their hand luggage.

Yet million of items are confiscated by customs officials at airports all over the world every single day. Much of the time, it will something innocuous that breaches or exceeds the no-liquids rule - toiletries, suncream, perfume, make-up... etc.

What is the no-liquids rule in place at airports?

Liquids in containers of 100 ml or less are allowed if placed in a single 1 L transparent ziplock bag (20.5 cm * 20.5 cm / 15 cm * 25 cm) per person.

Curiously, the item that is most often seized by officials at Incheon Airport serving Seoul isn’t bottles of mineral water or tubes of shower gel. The biggest headache for airport security at Incheon Airport is travelers who try to take packets of the traditional Korean dish kimchi through customs.

The airport reported that 10.7 tons of kimchi were were confiscated from departing passengers in 2024. Kimchi is a spicy side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables such as napa cabbage, Korean radish or cucumber.

For centuries, Kimchi has been an integral part of Korean culture and for most Korean households, it’s eaten daily. So it’s understandable that it’s one of the things that gets packed when they travel.

Why is kimchi being seized and not other food?

So why is it okay to pack certain foods and snacks into your hand luggage and not kimchi? The reason is that kimchi is prepared in a marinade of water and fish sauce which counts as a liquid and the passengers who were found carrying it were over the 100ml limit.

Incheon Airport explain that travelers can pack packets of pre-prepared food such as gochujang or kimchi in their hold luggage but not in the carry-on hand luggage.

All confiscated food items are either donated or discarded according to regulations, the airport said.

The no-liquids rule was enforced in August 2006 but could soon be scrapped with the introduction of new 3D cabin bag scanners.

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