Words by Rob Ouwehand

The most important, possibly life-preserving rule, is simply this: what the cars around you are doing is more important than the lights, lines and signs on the road—by a huge degree.

Whether that’s lane-weaving cars in the city or red-light-runners in the country who think nobody’s looking, the road signs are good, but awareness of your surroundings is better.

If you plan to drive in the city, ask yourself first, “Do I actually need to drive?” Between traffic, parking scarcity and prices, and Korean cities’ ever-improving public transit systems, often a subway or bus is easier, less stressful, and even faster.

If your destination is close to a busy city center, or it’s rush hour, public transit might be a better choice. If your destination is farther from the city center than you are, driving becomes a viable option.

Until all the world’s idiot drivers have stickers on their cars, you should drive defensively around the far right lanes. Buses, taxis, delivery bikes and trucks, cart-pulling seniors and a full complement of wet and dry goods vendors either dodge in and out of this lane—or even set up shop. Cars with tinted windows, especially imports, deserve an extra eyeball, too: they drive with a greater sense of entitlement than other drivers, and are most likely to cut you off, or block you from changing lanes.

Meanwhile, bikers come out of nowhere and ignore any rule of the road that won’t help them deliver their pizza: use your mirrors a lot to stay aware of all four corners of your car.

Taxi and bus drivers might be aggressive, but they’re also usually very experienced, for what it’s worth.

So, after harping on all the things that can go wrong on the roads in Korea’s cities, what are the good points? Two things always impress me about Korea’s city drivers: one, they generally know the dimensions of their cars extremely well. Out of necessity, of course, many can fit big cars in tiny, tiny spaces.

Also, because many rules of the road are mostly taken as suggestions, in the city and the countryside alike, most drivers are ready for an unpredictable or foolish maneuver from another driver at any time. This means that when something unexpected does happen, they adjust. To do well as a driver here, I recommend you try to do the same.

The Seoul Global Center can help you exchange a valid driver’s license from another country for a Korean license. It’s quick and easy: I had mine in hand in about 90 minutes.

Your current driver’s license must be full and valid!

• Home country driver’s license (full and valid, not temporary or probationary)
• Korean alien registration card
• Passport
• A certificate from your embassy verifying your license’s validity (contact your embassy for more details)
• Three color passport-sized photos

• Fill out an application and pay for printing your license (₩6,000).
• Get a simple check at a nearby medical clinic (₩5,000).
• Citizens of some countries (USA, Australia, New Zealand, China, and others) must write a 20-question multiple choice exam (₩6,000), while other countries (Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, many EU countries) are exempt.
• Your original license goes in storage at the center. To get it back, bring ID and an airplane ticket out of the country to the center.

You can reserve your car easily here:

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2. Klook – Klook.com is another great option when you’re driving in Korea. Thanks to the convenient app, travelers can access the most popular attractions and hidden gems at their fingertips.