Korean Job Discussion Forums

[matthews_world]

BTW, what are the Korean laws concerning licensure of autos, motorcycles, and scooters. What do you need to get a license for each??

I'd like to get a auto license and maybe buy a scooter someday.




Thanks!

[Derrek]

In my case, I got a Korean drivers liscense, along with one that allows for motorcycles in excess of 100cc. I had all of that in the USA, so I just had to go through the pain of transferring it.

The car license was easy. Getting it redone to include motorcycle was a pain in the butt. I am told that if you are in the army, it's all done very easily. In my case, the Kangnam Liscense office told me I had to go to the US Embassy and have them verify with some form that my liscense was also legal to ride a motorcycle in the USA.

Of course, when I got to the US Embassy (on the opposite side of the city), they had never heard of such a form, and instead charged me 30,000 won (I think) to stamp a paper I wrote (handwritten -- right there) with the official embassy seal. That was the best they could do. My little paragraph said that I swear my liscense is valid to ride motorcycles, blah, blah, blah. Also, they included a photocopy of my license. They then stamped it with their embossing tool, and away I went -- praying it would work.

Well, I went back to Kangnam with that paper, and was greeted with a blank stare. They didn't believe me. They picked and felt the embossed seal over and over. They passed it around in the office. They pulled at the special tab (used instead of a staple), and then accused me of making a false document. The embassy had only stamped the FIRST paper -- why not the second? They accused me of sticking the documents in with the other page. I then got very angry, raised my voice to vent my disgust with the process, and eventually they gave me the liscense out of pure embarrasment.

A real pain in the butt, and a total hassle. But now I've got it. I think a lot of other foriegners just drive illegally. Well, technically I do, because I still haven't figured out where the heck the office is in Yongsan that I need to get a license at. If anyone knows, please post.

By the way, I drive a Daelim 125cc Forte. It's automatic, and although I know I look a little funny on a scooter (and wouldn't own one back home for that reason), I really love it. I'd sure hate to do all of the shifting needed in this stop and go traffic! The Yamudas are cool, though.

[matthews_world]

So if you don't have a motorcycle endorsement on your foreign license, you should go to Yongsan and get it?? Any other places in Seoul?

[justaskdan]

I am selling to because I am buying a new Honda CBR400RR for 5mill. I decided I don't care about the laws like so many other expat bike enthusiasts I have met.

The laws here are OK. First and most importantly you can drive any bike up to 125cc with a normal drivers license (Korean or International). I also have friends who don't even bother getting Korean drivers licenses, when they get pulled over which is less then once a year they show their Canadian or America drivers license and shrug. It seems to work. Korean drivers license is very easy to get if you have a valid drivers license from any where else.

Also interestingly a foreighner can not get a Korean Bike license. Odd. I see American military and the occational English teacher riding big bikes. But they are not legally suppose to which pisses me off. I asked an Englisg Teacher who had a Kawi 500 about it and he said he has been pulled over several times and they let him go.

Registration and Insurance was 80,000 for a year and involved visiting two different places. I had a Korean to help me and it was painless.

All in all I had no problems driving legally. And yes you can not drive on interstates with any bike here as a matter of law. When I go to Dague I take smaller roads which I like, less traffic and more to see.

Any other questions let me know.

[justaskdan]

Derreck way to go. That is the first time I have heard of a expat pulling that off. I have a friend who is a Korean Vice cop and he told me plain and simple that it is illegal for foreighners to get bike licences. He's a cop and very smart so I just believed him. But as ususal in Korea there are lots of grey areas.

[Derrek]

[Derrek]

[matthews_world]

I thought I'd share an e-mail I received from a board member. I appreciate the help.

[captain kirk]

four years ago i worked near kwangju and the boss drove me out to what i guess was the provincial licensing centre because it was BIG, and in the middle of nowhere, a grandiose government complex complete with practise track and beaurocratic offices. my home country licence valid, just paid twenty bucks or something and did some 'tests'. these were;
-walking a straight line along a run of tape on the floor about two meters
-looking into some kind of peep show thing and indicating which letter is upside down, of four letters, or something
-and grabbing a guy's wrist, or something, to indicate i had enough forearm power to hold a steering wheel
anyway, i passed. and the boss and i went back with the desk and got the photo id korea car driver's licence card, which lasts five years.
so, for you, i guess you have to find the provincial driver's affairs/licensing complex nearest you, and if the boss will chauffeur you there in the am before classes in the afternoon all the better.

[john]

[matthews_world]

[maiden's iron]

I was pulled over riding my scooter. The officers treated my like a criminal by putting me in the back of the car while one of them rode my scooter to the police station. My scooter has 49.5 CCs which is supposedly .5 CCs below the maximum CCs permitted without a licence. This could be true in the county where I was pulled over and not necessarily in the neighboirng county were I live, but I doubt it. Anyway, I was told to pay a 200,000 won fine but didn't because my Korean friend knows the chief of police of that county. I asked many Koreans if it was true that I needed a license for my scooter and I got mixed responses. Quite a few said that you need a license for any scooter regardless of how many CCs it has. I guess laws here are made to be broken and I don't worry about that anymore. Still, I do have an international driver's license (now expired) and the police at the main police station said that it was sufficient for any kind of vehicle, scooters included. It seems that the best advice here is the one that most are giving: drive illegally. I read that most police will not bother to pull over foreigners because they don't want to deal with the language barrier. It's true in my case because I was never pulled over by police where I live even though they were right next to me or closeby; and I wasn't wearing a helmet during those times.

[Derrek]