Driving in Korea as a foreign resident comes down to one question: can your home licence be swapped, or do you start from the written test? For most people from Europe, North America, Japan and Australia the answer is a single morning at a test centre and ₩17,000. For many Asian and African licences it is the same visit plus a 40-question test. And for anyone starting from zero, the state test centres run the cheapest licensing system in the OECD, at under ₩100,000 if you pass each stage first time. This guide sets out the five routes, the documents that actually get checked, the 2026 fees, and what changes once you hold a Korean card.
Short answer
An international driving permit from home is valid for one year after you enter Korea, and after that you need a Korean licence. If your country is on the police recognised list, you exchange your full licence for a Korean Class 2 ordinary licence with only an eyesight and hearing check (₩17,000, same day). If it is not, you add a written test (₩10,000, 60 percent to pass, available in English and a dozen other languages). Starting from scratch costs about ₩90,000 in fees at a state test centre, or ₩700,000–1,000,000 through an academy that supplies lessons and the car. Bring your ARC, the foreign licence, an embassy confirmation or apostille, passport and three photos.
Quick facts (checked October 2026)
- Who runs it: Korea Road Traffic Authority test centres (운전면허시험장), 27 nationwide; Seoul has Gangnam, Gangseo, Dobong and Seobu. Information in English at safedriving.or.kr
- Exchange fees: aptitude check ₩7,000 plus the card, ₩10,000 standard or ₩15,000 mobile-IC; non-recognised countries add the ₩10,000 written test
- Recognised list: set by police notice (latest 6 April 2026); most EU states, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and all US states except Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada, which require the written test
- Not recognised (written test): China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and most of Central Asia, South Asia and Africa; check the list for your country
- Condition: the foreign licence must be a full, current licence obtained while you lived in that country for more than 90 days, shown by passport stamps or an immigration record
- New licence fees: medical ₩7,000, written ₩10,000, course ₩25,000, practice permit ₩4,000, road ₩30,000, card ₩10,000
- Validity: 10 years, then a renewal with an eyesight check; from 65, every 5 years
Route one: drive on your international permit for a year
A valid international driving permit issued in your home country under the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna convention lets you drive in Korea for one year from the date you entered, carried together with the home licence and your passport. It cannot be renewed in Korea, it does not restart if you leave and re-enter on the same stay, and it is not accepted by most rental companies beyond the first year or by employers for driving jobs. Use the year to decide whether you need a Korean licence at all; if you drive once a month, a rental with the IDP is cheaper than owning, and the used-car guide explains why insurance for a newly licensed foreigner is the expensive part.
Route two: exchange a recognised licence
This is the route most Western residents take and it is faster than most people expect. You apply in person at any test centre (not a police station), submit the documents, pass a two-minute eyesight and hearing check, and walk out with a Korean Class 2 ordinary licence the same day. The foreign licence is kept by the centre and can be returned when you leave Korea.
| Document | Detail | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| Original foreign licence | Full licence, within its validity; not a learner, provisional, probationary or paper permit | Expired licences and digital-only licences are refused |
| Embassy confirmation or apostille | Your embassy in Seoul confirms the licence is genuine, or the home authority issues an apostilled extract | Staple holes or a torn seal on the apostille lead to a request for a fresh document; some embassies take two weeks and charge ₩30,000–80,000 |
| Passport and ARC | Passport showing the entry stamp; ARC with a current address | A passport renewed since the licence was issued needs the old passport or an embassy letter |
| Proof of 90+ days in the issuing country | Entry and exit stamps, or an immigration record certificate (출입국사실증명) from the Korean side | Licences obtained on a short trip, or by mail, are refused |
| Three colour photos, 3.5 × 4.5 cm | Taken within six months; the photo booth at the centre does them for ₩8,000 | |
| Fee | ₩7,000 aptitude plus ₩10,000 (standard card) or ₩15,000 (mobile-IC card) | Card only; no cash at some centres |
Four quirks worth knowing. First, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Ireland have mutual-recognition agreements, so their licence classes carry across rather than collapsing to Class 2; everyone else gets Class 2 ordinary regardless of what they held at home. Second, the recognised list is by state for the US and by province for Canada, and four US states (Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada) are on the list but still require the written test. Third, if your name or birth date differs between the licence and the passport (middle names, transliteration), bring an embassy letter explaining it. Fourth, applications close at 17:00 and the eyesight room queues after lunch, so arrive by 15:00.
Route three: exchange a non-recognised licence
If your country is not on the list, the same documents and the same eyesight check apply, plus a 40-question multiple-choice written test on a touch screen, 60 percent to pass. The exchange test is offered in Korean, English, Chinese and Vietnamese at the counter, and the full new-licence test bank in about a dozen more languages at larger centres; ask when you book. The questions are drawn from the same pool as the new-licence test, so the free practice app from the Road Traffic Authority (운전면허 PLUS, with an English mode) is the whole syllabus. Most people pass first time after two evenings. Fail, and you can sit again the next working day for another ₩10,000. The licence issued is Class 2 ordinary.
Chinese, Vietnamese and Philippine licences are the ones most often refused on the 90-day rule. The centre checks that the licence was issued while you were physically living in the issuing country, using passport stamps or your Korean immigration record. A licence dated during a period you were already in Korea, or obtained on a two-week trip home, will not be exchanged, and the written-test fee is not refunded. If the dates are tight, bring the immigration record certificate from HiKorea and any proof of residence abroad for that period.
Route four: a new licence at a state test centre
Anyone 18 or over with an ARC can take the full test sequence without an academy. It is cheap, it is in your choice of language for the written part, and the test centre hires out cars for the course and road tests. The order is fixed.
- Traffic safety class and medical check (day 1). A one-hour video at the centre (free, with English subtitles), then an eyesight and hearing check in the medical room for ₩7,000. Six smaller centres have no medical room and send you to a nearby hospital with the form.
- Written test (day 1). 40 questions on screen, 60 percent to pass for Class 2 (70 for Class 1), ₩10,000. Register with your ARC and photos, pick a language from the list (English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Russian, Japanese and others), and expect 40 minutes. The practice app covers every question.
- Course test (week 1–2). Eleven tasks on the closed course: starting, signals, gear and wiper checks, a gradient start, a T-course, an emergency stop and so on, 80 percent to pass, ₩25,000. The centre’s car is included in the fee; book a slot on the Safe Driving site and allow a morning. Passing issues a practice permit (연습면허, ₩4,000) valid for a year, which lets you drive with a licensed passenger of two years’ standing.
- Road test (week 2–4). A set route in real traffic with an examiner and a tablet marking the manoeuvres, 70 percent to pass, ₩30,000. Four routes exist per centre and you learn which one on the day. Fail and you rebook after three days. On passing, pay ₩10,000 for the card and leave with the licence.
Total at a test centre: ₩86,000 in fees, plus whatever practice driving you arrange. The gap most self-taught applicants fall into is between the course test and the road test: without an academy you need a car with a two-year-licensed friend for practice, and a few hours in a rental on the test centre’s routes is the usual fix (rental companies will not rent on a practice permit, so the friend rents).
Route five: an academy
A licensed driving academy (운전전문학원) bundles the classroom hours, the course and road practice, the car and a test on its own premises for ₩700,000–1,000,000, more in central Seoul and for English-speaking instructors. It is the right choice if you have never driven, if you want the road test on familiar streets, or if your schedule only allows evenings and weekends. The licence is identical. Academies with English-language packages cluster in Gangnam, Mapo, Songpa and Haeundae; ask whether the price includes re-tests, because the second attempt is where the cheap packages add fees.
After the card: what changes
| Situation | What to know |
|---|---|
| Insurance | Insurers price by licence history. A freshly exchanged licence often counts as new, so bring your home insurance record (claims-free letter) to argue for a lower band; the car insurance guide explains the tiers |
| Driving abroad on a Korean licence | The English-language Korean licence (영문 운전면허증) is accepted in around 90 countries; otherwise buy a Korean IDP at any test centre, police station or Incheon airport for ₩8,500, valid one year |
| Points and fines | Camera fines go to the registered owner; licence points go to the driver. 40 points in a year suspends the licence; 121 in a year or 271 in three cancels it |
| Address change | The licence shows your ARC address; update it when you move, or fines and renewal notices go astray |
| Renewal | Every 10 years with an eyesight check; renewal within one year of expiry needs no test, later than that the tests come back |
| Leaving Korea | The Korean licence can be exchanged in many countries without a test; take a certified translation |
A worked example: Mei, from Shanghai, two years in Suwon
Mei holds a Chinese licence issued in 2021 while she lived in Shanghai, and she arrived in Korea in 2024. China is not on the recognised list, so her route is exchange with the written test. She books an appointment at the Yongin test centre, gets the licence authenticated at the Chinese consulate (two visits, ₩50,000), downloads the practice app and studies the English question bank for two evenings. At the centre she submits the licence, consulate letter, passport, ARC, an immigration record certificate showing she was in China when the licence was issued, three photos and ₩27,000. The eyesight check takes two minutes, the written test twenty-five; she scores 80 and receives a Class 2 ordinary licence before lunch. Had her licence been issued in 2025, during a short visit home, the centre would have refused the exchange and she would have taken the new-licence route at about ₩90,000.
Frequently asked questions
Can I exchange a licence from one country while holding citizenship of another?
Yes. Recognition follows the issuing authority, not your nationality. A Vietnamese national with a Canadian provincial licence exchanges on the Canadian terms, as long as the 90-day residence in Canada is shown.
Do I get my foreign licence back?
It is held at the test centre and returned when you surrender the Korean licence on leaving Korea. If you need it meanwhile, some countries allow a replacement from home; Korea will not hand it back while the Korean licence is active.
Is the exchange licence manual or automatic?
Class 2 ordinary covers both unless the foreign licence was automatic-only, in which case the Korean one carries the automatic restriction.
I am on a D-2 student visa. Can I get a licence?
Yes. Any registered foreigner aged 18 or over with an ARC can apply by either route; visa type does not matter. Tourists without an ARC can only drive on an IDP.
My IDP has expired but I have been here 14 months. Can I keep driving?
No. After one year from entry the IDP is invalid and driving on it is unlicensed driving, which carries a criminal penalty and an immigration record. Exchange or test before the year ends.
Can I take the written test in my language?
The exchange written test is available in Korean, English, Chinese and Vietnamese at every centre; the full test bank also runs in Thai, Russian, Japanese, Mongolian, Indonesian, Tagalog, Khmer, Uzbek and others at the larger centres. Confirm when you book.
Bottom line
Check the recognised list, authenticate the licence at your embassy, and go to a test centre with the ARC, passport, photos and the 90-day proof. Recognised licence: done before lunch for ₩17,000. Not recognised: two evenings with the practice app and ₩27,000. No licence: about ₩90,000 and a month at a state centre, or an academy if you want the car and the teaching included. Do it inside the first year, while the international permit still covers you.
Related guides: Car insurance for foreigners · Buying a used car · Alien registration card · Address changes and the 14-day rule · Korean phrases on the road (show-this-screen cards)
Fees and procedures follow the Korea Road Traffic Authority schedule and the National Police Agency recognised-country notice of 6 April 2026, as of October 2026. The recognised list changes; confirm your country before you book. This is general information, not legal advice.
답글 남기기