Process for MOST International Arrivals at ICN

The experience I described above is not the experience that most international
visitors will get when coming to South Korea during the pandemic.

Unless you have long-term visa, you will not be able to choose your own self-
quarantine option like I did. Instead, you will have to quarantine at location
overseen by the government.

While I did not personally undergo this process described below, this is what most
international arrivals to South Korea could expect when arriving to the country.
(This information was accurate as of July.)

You will go through the quarantine stands, where staff members from the Ministry of
Health and Welfare check your body temperature and ask if you have any COVID
related symptoms and medications that you may have consumed. At this point, they
will also check if you have downloaded relevant apps for the 14-day quarantine
depending on the staff member.
Assuming that you are considered non-symptomatic, you proceed to stands (depending
on your legal status in Korea) where a soldier of the Korean Army will check for
your self-quarantine eligibility. For most foreigners without a specific visa, you
will get documentation for the mandatory 14-day government quarantine; if you
disagree to any portions of the government quarantine, you may be asked to leave
the country. App status may be checked again in this stage.
Travelers undergoing government quarantine may be asked to group together
afterwards to prevent anyone defecting, overseen by either a public health official
or a police officer who will escort through the following steps.
You will go through passport checks and submit relevant immigration forms, just as
you would have done before the pandemic. Afterwards, you pick up your luggage and
go through customs.
After exiting to the main lobby, police officers (if they haven’t already) may
separate those who are self-quarantining and are going to a government facility. At
this time, the National Fire Agency provides buses for those undergoing government
quarantine.
Upon arrival at the government-run facility, public health officials and soldiers
in the Korean Army will go through a “check-in” process with you. At this point,
you will pay 2.1 million KRW (roughly $1,760, depending on the prevailing currency
exchange rate) per person. All meals and coronavirus testing conducted during this
time will be covered with this payment.