South Korea Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving in South Korea-
You need an international driving permit plus your own licence to drive in South Korea.South Korea’s cities are linked by an efficient and well maintained system of motorways (expressways), National roads and some toll roads, which include the Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway, Daegu-Busan Expressway, Incheon International Airport Expressway, Seoul-Chuncheon Expressway and parts of the Seoul Ring Expressway. South Korea has 106,000km of roads and 90% are paved.
Roads are generally in good condition and although traffic may be heavy in cities, rules of the road are usually obeyed. South Korea drives on the right and left-hand turns are often prohibited on main roads except where a green arrow indicates otherwise. You may turn right on a red light if the way is clear. South Korea does have a high incidence of road accidents and car drivers are always initially deemed to be at fault in any collision with a pedestrian or motor cycle. Your passport may be confiscated whilst investigations are carried out. Fines for traffic offences are high so you should drive with caution and endeavour to stay within the law. One particular quirk of South Korean driving law relates to parking on a hill. You need to place stops behind each wheel, or turn the steering wheel to ensure that the front wheels of the vehicle are angled towards the kerb.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
South Korea Car Rental –
Hertz, National, Avis, Budget have outlets in South Korea. Hertz seem to have the best coverage with franchises in nearly 90 locations across the country.
We currently have no local car rental partners in South Korea. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com.
South Korea Self Drive Rules –
You need an International Driving permit plus your own licence to rent a car. South Korea doesn’t recognise licences issued in Brazil or Saudi Arabia. None of the companies mention taking cars across to Japan so I’d assume this isn’t possible. Obviously they won’t allow cars to be taken into North Korea!
