1) Your Alien Registration Card.
2) Your passport.
3) Your driver's license from your home country. If you don't have one, then you need to take a different approach. For this how-to guide, we're only dealing with people who have a driver's license from their home country.
4) 3 headshots that are 3x4 centimeters. You can get these done at Emart, for example, for a few thousand won.
5) 11,000 won in cash. The first five will be spent on your physical exam, and the last six will be spent on buying stamps. We're not sure what these stamps are for, but we had to buy them anyway.
Once you've got all of this, then you're ready to roll! Take everything your closest Department of Motor Vehicles, sign some papers, pass your physical exam, buy some stamps, and - voila! You can legally drive in Korea. Be warned, though; going this route means that you have to trade in your home country's driver's license for a Korean one. You can get your license back at any time if you trade back your Korean one. You're essentially doing a swap. We don't really understand the reasoning behind the swap, so if any of you know why this is done please tell us!
If you don't know where your closest DMV is, then watch our video! At the end of it, we have a list of all the different locations, along with their phone numbers. Hopefully, if your co-teacher is nice (or your Korean skills are rocking) then you can call the DMV in your area up and ask how to get there. We went to the one in Incheon, and explain how to get there in the video as well. So click on the picture above for our video on How to Get Your Korean Driver's License, or check out the sidebar for different formats.
11 comments:
Also, if you are not Canadian, you have to take a 20 question test, that is in very bastardized English. Really there is no other way to explain this. I thought I was going to fail because I couldn't understand the English, but I got my license.
You can buy a book for the test which is published in English and is 14,000 won, which I would suggest, as there are questions on speed limits and points for certain violations. Or borrow one from someone who has already bought it.
Hey Simon/Martina!
Just been looking on the net to find out what the 6,000 won's worth of stamps is for. The only mention of the word 'stamp' on the DLA's website with a list of fees is if you've failed your test, right at the bottom here...
http://www.dla.go.kr/english/01_info/info06.jspI can't seem to find anything on Google either. Hmm!
Danny.
Soooo cool! How does insurance work there? Or is that going to be in your next update?
I understand that you have to trade in your license and that it will be returned to you. My question is whether you can do this multiple times... Can I repeat the process everytime I go back home (to the US) and come back again or is it a one shot deal?
Where can I buy the book in English? I took my test and failed. I was angry as my score was 55%. You are absolutely right, the English was really ridicolous.
great post! I just went and got my license using your instructions. thanks!
I'd also like to know where to get that licence test book in English. I had a Korean co-worker call the testing centres, but they had no clue.
Anyone out there have a spare copy or at least know where to get one?
I didn't need to take a test of any kind just sign a paper that swore that my Canadian Liscense was real...do a squat...open and close my fist...fumble through an eye test and done.
Reciprocal licensing is done via treaty obligations. There are at least two -- names of which escape me at this moment -- that cover generally most western European countries, most of the Americas, including Central and South America, and many developed countries in Asia. While they primarily cover non-residents, the wording can be loose enough to cover any non-immigrant foreigners. In short, if you can drive in the US or Canada, you can drive in Korea, and vice versa. What you are getting is more or less a Korean translation of your home license. I'm not familiar with all the details of these treaties, but I don't think it's entirely kosher for Korea to require you to surrender the home license. In the US, for example, you must have your foreign license along with a valid translation (generally referred as international driving permit) in order to drive legally. Furthermore, the license really doesn't technically belong to you. It remains the property of the state or the province that issued it, much like your passport. But whatever, it's no big deal. Replacing a license is a pretty trivial matter, unlike replacing a passport.
I don't think it's necessary to buy the licnce test book.
I think the website has everything you need:
http://www.dla.go.kr/english/index.jsp
Specifically, click on the 'useful information' tab (found in various places).
There is information on signs, road markings, fines/points/offences, etc. that I think is enough to pass the test.
Does anyone know if it works the same for South Africans? Can we just swop our licence for the korean one? Just do the tests and pay and thats it?
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