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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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whome33
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
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 Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:20 pm Post subject: getting a korean driver's licence |
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| in seoul. I understand I just need to present my canadian licence. Can anyone tell me where I need to do that? |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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whome33
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:12 am Post subject: |
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| cheers, thanks |
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dorian_gray
Joined: 04 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:25 am Post subject: |
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I got a license a few years ago and I had to take the written exam (in English of course). It was the same story for my husband. We are from the U.S. and New Zealand, so maybe it's different for Canadians. Anyway, it was pretty easy.
Good luck and happy motoring. |
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runthegauntlet
Joined: 02 Dec 2007
Location: the southlands.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| Got mine last year. Had to surrender my U.S. license, take an eye exam and pass a written test that had a few questions that were horribly translated. I passed it with the minimum score.... |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Best deal yet-- don't get a Korean license, just get an International Driver's License from back home. It is perfectly legal here (even though a lot of cops don't recognize WTF it is), and it WILL get you out of small jams (like an illegal U-turn, driving in the bus lane on the clogged up Xpressways, forgetting to wear a seatbelt, etc). Just make sure to have your ARC, IDL, and your home license on you at all times. 9/10 times, they'll just wave you through for any small 'booboo'. If you have a Korean license, they'll assume you speak perfect Korean, understand all the rules, and come down on you hard. The IDL works at the vehicle registry offices, insurance companies, and with the cops. |
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BobbyOrr
Joined: 01 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| I did it a month ago near Gangnam. It couldn't have been easier for a Canadian. No written test. Just checked the eyes. Took about an hour. |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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It depends on the international agreements Korea has with your country.
If there is an equal treatment/acceptance of the quality of drivers license, then you should not have too much trouble acquiring the license.
I had to do a simple medical check and some basic forms to get my level 2 license.
I am now trying to get a Level 1 license, and it will involve an actual driving test with a manual. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:59 pm Post subject: Re: getting a korean driver's licence |
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| whome33 wrote: |
| in seoul. I understand I just need to present my canadian licence. |
yup. i was in and out in 10 minutes. easier than opening a box of cereal; if i knew it was gonna be that quick and painless i would've done it years before
hand over your canadian license (they keep it), they half fill out a form, have you fill the rest, take your picture, and while you go over to get your eyes quickly checked (with your glasses on if you want) they make up your card, ready for your return a couple of minutes later
bing, bang, boom... done |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
| Best deal yet-- don't get a Korean license, just get an International Driver's License from back home. It is perfectly legal here |
IF you've lived here less than a year, the International Driving Permit is perfectly legal, but once you've been here a year it no longer is, irrespective of how long the actual permit itself is valid for. You then HAVE TO get a Korean licence to continue driving legally here.
People do drive on an IDP here who've been living in Korea longer than 1 year and get away with it. Of course, you might never be stopped and asked for a licence by the police, and many traffic cops would probably not have sufficient English to explain and would just give up and let you go. But why take the risk when it's so easy to get the Korean licence and drive legally?
Also, in my experience, the police do not assume you speak Korean if you have a Korean licence. I've been stopped for a minor traffic violation a couple of times, always pretended I couldn't speak any Korean and on both occasions was, after the copper had struggled manfully with the English required to book me, waved through as he gave up. I know I won't be lucky every time like that, but neither will everyone driving on a IDP when they shouldn't be. |
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definitely maybe
Joined: 16 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Juregen wrote: |
It depends on the international agreements Korea has with your country.
If there is an equal treatment/acceptance of the quality of drivers license, then you should not have too much trouble acquiring the license.
I had to do a simple medical check and some basic forms to get my level 2 license.
I am now trying to get a Level 1 license, and it will involve an actual driving test with a manual. |
Are you doing this to drive your academy's shuttle bus, or has it always been your dream to sell stuff out of the back of a bongo truck? |
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definitely maybe
Joined: 16 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
| Best deal yet-- don't get a Korean license, just get an International Driver's License from back home. It is perfectly legal here (even though a lot of cops don't recognize WTF it is), and it WILL get you out of small jams (like an illegal U-turn, driving in the bus lane on the clogged up Xpressways, forgetting to wear a seatbelt, etc). Just make sure to have your ARC, IDL, and your home license on you at all times. 9/10 times, they'll just wave you through for any small 'booboo'. If you have a Korean license, they'll assume you speak perfect Korean, understand all the rules, and come down on you hard. The IDL works at the vehicle registry offices, insurance companies, and with the cops. |
Getting an IDL is no small task if you aren't in your home country. It really is fairly easy to get the genuine product here though, especially if you're a Canadian. Furthermore, the two IDLs I've had in the past expired after a year. I got my Korean license in 2008 and it doesn't expire until 2017. You may not be here for more than a year or two, but the KDL is the way to go if you think you will be. |
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oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| I had my wallet stolen a week before I got here. How much is it (in money and time) to get a Korean one as I will have to take the driving test as well. Do I have to take a training course? |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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| definitely maybe wrote: |
Getting an IDL is no small task if you aren't in your home country. It really is fairly easy to get the genuine product here though, especially if you're a Canadian. Furthermore, the two IDLs I've had in the past expired after a year. I got my Korean license in 2008 and it doesn't expire until 2017. You may not be here for more than a year or two, but the KDL is the way to go if you think you will be. |
I can get my IDL by sending in copies of my valid US license, downloading and filling out the PDF application, and 2 passport photos by snail-mail to the AAA in Florida. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's only once a year. Plus, I don't have to give up my US license and I can use my IDL abroad. Switching to a K-license does me no good when I travel and want to rent a bike/car abroad or back in the States, and it's virtually impossible to get a Korean IDL with your K-license if you're a foreigner. Unless you just only want to drive in Korea, it's a no-brainer for me. It is also NOT illegal to drive on one for more than one year in K-land, especially if you renew your E2 every year. I've been doing this for 7 years now. I realize the ease of having a K-license, but also realize the limitations of it. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
| It is also NOT illegal to drive on one for more than one year in K-land, especially if you renew your E2 every year. |
I'll be honest and say I don't know with 100% certainty if you're right or wrong there.
But officials at both the Mapo and Dobong drivers license offices in Seoul plus two separate traffic cops I've spoken to would disagree with you.
Of course, as many of us will have found out at immigration offices, there are officials in Korea who don't know laws that they should know and give out wrong information. So if you've had people who matter saying it was ok and never had any problems with it then I can well believe it and good for you or anyone else in that situation.
However, bear in mind that the IDP is meant for people staying temporarily in a country other than their own and intending to drive there, not people actually living there. Every country I've driven has had some limitation (in some cases LESS than 1 year) on how long they'll allow people to drive there on an IDP without getting a local (or other endorsable) licence and they'd be crazy not to have such a regulation. I'd be surprised if any country recognising the IDP legally allows people to drive on it ad infinitum.
Good point about the difficulty of getting an IDP on the basis of a Korean licence. It's not impossible - in fact it's very easy IF you're an F visa holder - but you need to have lived here for 3 years if you're on an E2 visa to be able to get one.
Incidentally, whilst home country licences are retained by the Korean DL office if you exchange it for a Korean licence, you can get it back if you're going back home, even just for a visit. You just have to show your plane ticket and they'll give you your home country licence back. And they don't seem to want you to re-surrender it when you come back to Korea. So basically, you're only going to be without it until your first trip back home. |
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