Excerpt
Valid licenses for driving cars.
Driving Licenses
Published: June 7, 2011Trackback URLPosted in: Getting Around
Driving in Gwangju
There are two licensed ways to drive in Korea, as explained below:
- Possessing an international driver’s license:
International driving licenses issued overseas are valid in Korea if within one year of the date the permit was issued. A driver may only drive the vehicle type specified in the license. One will be prohibited from driving under an international driving license if one refuses or fails a road check, or causes an accident. It is compulsory for all drivers to possess a license while driving; failure to do so is to violate Korea’s driving law requirements.
- Obtaining a Korean driver’s license based on a foreign license:
One must pass an aptitude test before obtaining a Korean driver’s license (equivalent to a foreign license). Please register for the test in person and bring the following required documents and fees to the Driver’s License Exam Station in Naju. A physical exam may be required.
Required Documents:
- Foreign Driver’s License (issued by your own country)
- Individuals from non-English speaking countries should provide a translation and a notarized copy of the original driver’s license. The translation should be dated and must clearly state the dates for the validity of the license.
- Passport or immigration office certificate, demonstrating that your stay in Korea is longer than 90 days.
- Your Alien Registration Card.
- Three passport size (3.5 x 4.5) pictures.
Fees:
- Receipt Stamp: 5,000 won
- Physical Exam: 5,000 won
- Theory Test: 4,000 won. (The theory test is subjective to one’s visa type and home country.)
Theory Test: This is a written test that consists of 20 questions about the Korean traffic system and its laws. The written test is available in English, Chinese and Korean. Those holding a driver’s license issued from a country that recognizes a Korean driver’s license (please refer to the list in the following page) are exempt from the test regardless of their visa types. If one holds a driver’s license from a country that does not recognize a Korean driver’s license, you may still be exempt from taking the tests depending on the type of Korean visa you hold. For more information, please contact the Driver’s License Exam Station at 061-337-9999 or see www.dla.go.kr/english for more details.
Directions to the Naju Jeonnam Driver’s License Exam Station
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Address: 10 Sam.yeong-dong, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do
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Tel: 1577-1120 // Fax: 061-337-9999
Jeonnam Driver’s License Agency
- 520-230 69, Myeon hoe shi heom jang-gil, Naju City, Jeollanam-do
- Tel: 1577-1120 Fax: 061-337-9999
- Website : www.dla.go.kr (in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese)
- Take bus no.180-5 to ‘Myeonheoshiheomjang’(면허시험장) bus stop
By bus from Gwangju
- Take a bus #160 or #180 from the Lotte Department Store bound to Naju and Myeonheo siheomjang (면허시험장). Check with the bus driver whether it goes there or not before getting on the bus; also take bus #180 from the Baeg.un-dong area to the Naju Bus Terminal.
- Take express bus from Gwangcheon Bus terminal bound for Naju or Yeongsanpo. When you get Naju or Yeongsanpo, take a bus #180 or a taxi to the Myeonheo siheomjang (면허시험장).
| Direction | Time | |||||||||
| Gwangju | 09:00 | 09:25 | 09:55 | 10:25 | 10:45 | 11:05 | 11:30 | 11:40 | 11:55 | 12:25 |
| 12:45 | 13:00 | 13:20 | 13:55 | 14:25 | 14:40 | 15:10 | 15:30 | 15:55 | 16:15 | |
| Dashi | 08:05 | 08:45 | 08:55 | 09:15 | 09:30 | 10:05 | 10:25 | 10:35 | 11:15 | 11:50 |
| 12:25 | 12:30 | 12:55 | 13:20 | 13:55 | 14:15 | 14:50 | 15:05 | 15:40 | 16:00 | |
| Exempt Visa Types: | Countries that recognize Korean Driver’s License: |
| A1, A2, A3, D7, D8, D9, E1, E3, E4, E7, F4 | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Guyana, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guam, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cote d’lvoire, Djibouti, Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe |
New Application for Driving License
Application requirements
| License Class | Requirements |
| Class 1 – large & special vehicle license | Aged over 20 with class 1 or 2 regular license for more at least 1 year |
| Class 1 – regular, class 2 – regular & small | Aged over 18 |
| Class 2 – motorcycle | Aged over 16 |
| Class 1&2 – disabled license | Qualified for disability activity measurement testFor class 1 license, must qualify physical exam pertaining to class 1 |
Driver’s License Restriction
| 1 | Age below 18 (below 16 for motocycles) |
| 2 | Mental patient, mentally retarded persons, and epileptic |
| 3 | Hearing impaired (class 1 driver’s license only), vision impaired, and other physically impaired as decreed by the president |
| 4 | Narcotics, cannabis, hallucinogen or alcoholic |
| 5 | Aged less than 20 for class 1 large & special license or less than 1 year of driving record (two-wheeled vehicle and motorcycles excluded) |
3 Comments
- Jaguang Sunim December 22, 2010 at 11:28 AM
- nana_kim December 29, 2010 at 1:01 PM
- John Worst March 17, 2012 at 5:04 PM
A confirmation of the validity of one’s foreign driver license is also required (대사관확인서). This must be obtained from the Embassy of the country that issued the driver license.
Please add this to your list of requirements. I went to Naju only to learn that I first had to go to my Embassy in Seoul to obtain this certificate before I could apply for my Korean license. I’m not sure if this applies to all countries but I have an American driver license and had to obtain this certificate.
Thank you!
Thank you very much for your feedback, Jaguang Sunim, I am sure this is very helpful for others..
I have updated the post with the information that you provided.
Thanks for the info. Did this today. I took the 404 Naju bus from Beagun-dong – not sure if the 180 still runs… I just showed the Korean name of the testing center to each driver until I got waved on. Koroad has a new website, http://dl.koroad.or.kr/english/index.jsp. Though the English website includes service hours as “Saturday 9:00-1:00,” they are actually open one Saturday a month. You can check which Saturday it is by going to the Korean website and hitting tabs until you stumble upon the list of service sites. Unfortunately, I didn’t try this before I went last weekend, only to stand with a lone Korean man who had made the same mistake staring at a closed building. The physical exam is now 4,000 won and the license itself is now 6,000 won – same cost in the wash. The staff at Koroad was really kind and helpful – the place was busting at the seams with people, but I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. There isn’t any English signage for exchanging a foreign license (only for getting a new license) – it’s the middle counter that people want (no number pulling necessary).