How you can hit the Seoul streets
If the duration of your stay is no longer than one year, we recommend you obtain an international driver’s license issued in your own country, which is valid for one year in Korea.
If your home country is in the list, you are exempt from all tests except a physical exam; if not, you must take both physical and written exams, which are available in English, Chinese and Korean.
The required documents are: your original driver’s license from your home country, a notarized translation of your driver’s license, your passport and documents to prove your entry and departure dates, your alien registration card, three 2x4-centimeter (0.7x1.6-inch) color ID photos, and a confirmation letter from the embassy of your home country.
To exchange your license you must pay 6,000 won ($4.26) for the stamp of receipt, 5,000 won for the physical examination and 6,000 won for the written examination (if required). When your stay in Korea is over, your license from your home country will be returned to you upon presentation of your passport and airline ticket.
If you do not have a valid license from your home country and have been a resident in Korea for more than six months, you may also acquire a Korean driver’s license. The procedure you will use to apply for a Korean driver’s license is the same as any Korean and is done in three steps.
Step one is a theory test in which you must answer 40 multiple-choice questions on a quiz available in English, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
Step two is a driving test on a designated circuit route at a typical driving school or at a dedicated driver’s license test site.
You can only take this test after taking10 basic driving lessons with a driving school instructor. The list of driving schools in Korea is available at www.caru.co.kr. Also, 10 hours of practice on the road in Seoul is required before the next step.
The final step is to have a policeman or someone approved by the police agency sit next to you while driving on an actual road.
This option requires the following documents: your passport or an alien registration card and two 1.2x1.5-inch photos. The fees are 5,000 won for a physical test, 6,000 won for a written test, 15,000 won for the circuit test, 21,000 won for the road test and 12,000 won for the safety education test. Driving school fees vary, but the average is about 600,000 won.
Driving knowledge tests are conducted at 26 driver’s license examination offices across the country. There are four offices in Seoul: in Gangnam (Samseong Station, line No. 2, exit 1), Seobu (Hongik University Station, line No. 2, exit 2), Gangseo (Songjeong Station, line No. 5, exit 4), and Dobong (Nowon Station, line No. 4, exit 9).
Technical driving tests can be taken at some private driving schools. Refer to Table 2 for a list of those located in Seoul.
For more information, please visit http://global.seoul.go.kr (Seoul Global Center), http://www.smpa.go.kr (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency) or http://dla.go.kr/eng/main.jsp (Driver’s License Agency).
By Kim Hannah Staff Reporter [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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