[Sept '25] Service Announcement: Regarding Tariffs for US Joiners

Hi guys, Han here~

A few months ago, I wrote you guys an update regarding tariffs implemented by the Trump administration, but as of the end of last month, there have been important changes that I want to inform you of.

Until now, there has been a 15% tariff on large-value imports from South Korea, but now, tariffs also apply to low-value packages worth less than $800, and all packages are being reviewed through customs in the US, regardless of whether they are marked as gifts or not.

This rule is not unique to Korea, and as a result, Korea, alongside several other countries, has decided to stop all shipping through their public postal services, which typically transfer their packages through to USPS. This means that as of approx. Aug 20th, shipping through sea, air, K-Packet, or standard EMS has all been suspended.

Air letters are fortunately being processed as usual, but for packages, at the moment, the only option available is EMS premium, which is handled by a private company - and despite the name, EMS premium (a fixed price service) is currently slightly cheaper than regular EMS due to public mail services adjusting their prices in accordance with supply chain issues. However, these packages are still significantly more expensive than regular air mail, which I know is something a lot of you guys rely on to save money on shipping.

When I went to the post office at the start of September to investigate the situation, the staff told me they expected shipping to resume around the end of October once the local post office had updated its systems to be in line with the US's new customs requirements, so it is expected that regular shipping will return around that time.

As such, for those who have placed orders prior to Sept 16th (ie the date of this post) - I am going to offer 2 options:

1. Extended storage with no additional fees while you save to afford the higher EMS premium prices

2. Extended storage with no additional fees until the end of October - by which shipping should hopefully be resolved

If you place an order after this date, I will process your order as normal, but with EMS Premium shipping at the final stage. Likewise, if regular shipping has not returned by the start of November, all existing orders will be processed through EMS premium.

One thing to note is that regardless of which option you take, there is now a much higher chance of you being hit with customs. I am still marking packages as gifts and with low values, but it is now out of my hands if a package is hit with tariffs or not.

I'm not really sure how to end this post, as it's not one I imagined I had to make, and as a service that always aimed to make collecting more affordable, I understand how negatively this might affect some of you, and for that, I send my sincerest sympathies. I hope the global backlash will lead to some sort of positive change soon.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via the FMA app or website.

Magic & Purple Hearts,

Han

P.S. For those who have been patiently waiting for their TXT - The Star Chapter: Together albums, I appreciate your patience while I figured out this mess. I'll be messaging you all individually about your orders within this week.