How to Find Destination Tracking for ECMS in Korea

by Rian

I don’t buy as much as I used to from Amazon, partly because the platform is now also plagued with generic items that are also available on Chinese platforms. Why pay for pacific crossing twice, only to be charged double or more for the same product? But there are still products that can only be bought from Amazon, — as to why they didn’t move to different storefront, I have no clue — but the platform’s international shipping capabilities are also deteriorating with less than ideal shipping service.

ECMS tracking numbers usually start with APEC, or something similar. And their tracking history, quite frankly, doesn’t reveal much in details. Once it lands in foreign land, pretty much nothing is updated until it’s delivered. However, if you are an international shopper, you would want to keep an eye for local customs for fees and taxes.

In South Korea, you need to provide 개인통관고유부호 to the shipping service in order to match the parcel to your tax information. I thought it was odd ECMS wouldn’t provide me with local tracking number on Korean customs website to look up customs proceedings. There is the other way around to narrow down the tracking number. On the same website, there is 수입화물진행정보. You can search it on the menu. Under 해외직구 통관정보조회 tab, provide your identification — I used 간편인증 and 개인통관고유부호 — to look up past and on-going customs proceedings. That’s also the same local tracking number you could use to track the parcel in Korea once it’s left the customs office.

I don’t know why ECMS hasn’t streamlined their system. Perhaps they thought so long as it arrives, there is no foul. But dealing with customs is a tricky business anywhere in the world. I had my parcel searched by customs office, and I wouldn’t have known why the sudden hold up until I started ringing the Korean branch office. Only much later, I thought of this method. Hopefully ECMS updates their tracking system.