Convert your foreign driving licence

Most foreign residents in Korea drive on an international driving permit for the first year, then either exchange their home-country licence for a Korean one or convert by written test. Which of those two paths is available depends on a single question: is your issuing country on the reciprocity list?

Country list: the decisive question

The Korean National Police Agency maintains a list of countries with which Korea has a licence-exchange arrangement. Being on the list means, in principle, that your home-country licence exchanges for a Korean licence without a written or practical test — subject to document checks, a medical, and the eye exam. Not being on the list means the licence still counts, but you sit the Korean written test in addition, and in some cases a practical test.

The list is grouped roughly into countries whose licences convert directly and countries whose licences convert to a specific subset of Korean categories only (for example, sedan but not motorcycle, or automatic-only). Consular verification of the licence — a certification stamp from your embassy in Korea, or an apostilled translation — is required for many countries even where the exchange itself is direct.

Documents to bring

• Foreign driving licence — original, valid, not expired.
• Certified translation — an embassy-authenticated translation, or a translation certified by a KoRoad-approved translation service. Some embassies (US, UK, Canadian, Australian) issue a "Certification of Driver's Licence" that KoRoad accepts as translation.
• Driving history certificate — for countries whose licences are recent or that KoRoad has flagged for extra checks, the office may ask for evidence of the applicant's driving history from the issuing authority.
• Passport and residence card (외국인등록증).
• One passport-sized photograph (3.5 × 4.5 cm), taken within six months.
• Fees — payable at the office by cash or card.
• Medical check — a short physical (mainly vision and hearing) done at the exam office or at a licensed clinic within the past year.

Step by step

1. Check the country list

   On the KoRoad foreign-licence page, find your country and note whether the exchange is direct, whether a written test is required, and whether the exchange covers all vehicle categories or only some.

2. Get the licence translated and authenticated

   Either through your embassy in Seoul or through a KoRoad-approved translator. If your embassy issues a "Consular Certification of Driver's Licence", that is normally the fastest and most reliably accepted document.

3. Book at a KoRoad exam office

   Book through the KoRoad reservation portal or attend as a walk-in at less busy provincial offices. Metropolitan offices (Seoul: Doksan, Gangnam; Busan; Incheon) fill up; provincial offices are commonly walk-in friendly.

4. Attend and hand in the pack

   Documents are reviewed at the counter. The foreign licence is retained by KoRoad if the exchange is direct — you receive a receipt and can request the licence back on departure from Korea.

5. Take the medical and eye check

   Done on the day at the office's health room, or at a licensed clinic in advance. Standards are basic — vision correctable to a threshold, colour vision, hearing at conversational volume.

6. Sit the written test if required

   For countries not on the straight-exchange list, the KoRoad written test — 40 questions, multiple choice, available in English and several other languages — is taken on the same day. Study the KoRoad question bank in advance; the pass mark is 60%.

7. Collect the Korean licence

   Issued the same day at most offices. It is a plastic card the same size as the residence card; keep both together.

Where people get sent home

• Wrong-list assumption. Arriving with a home-country licence assuming direct exchange, and finding the country is on the partial-exchange list — expect to sit the written test that day or reschedule.
• Translation not accepted. A translator's own certification is not always accepted; embassy authentication or a KoRoad-approved service is safer.
• Expired at home. A foreign licence that has expired since arrival will not exchange — you renew abroad first, or take the full Korean licence route (theory + skills + on-road).
• Vehicle category mismatch. A US commercial licence does not necessarily map to a Korean commercial category. Ask which class the exchange results in before you hand in the licence.

Driving on the international permit first

An IDP issued under the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention is valid in Korea for one year from entry. It is not a replacement for a driving licence — an IDP is only recognised when carried together with the underlying national licence. Extending residence beyond one year without converting means, in effect, driving without a valid licence.

Common questions

Do I get my foreign licence back?

Yes — on request, when you leave Korea. KoRoad holds it against a return receipt. Some drivers ask for a photocopy stamped as "seen and returned" so they have proof of their driving history in the interim.

Can I convert without a residence card?

The exchange requires the residence card at almost all offices. Short-stay drivers use the IDP path instead.

What if I fail the written test?

Rebook and re-sit. The question bank is public; a couple of hours' study is usually enough for anyone already familiar with driving. Practical tests, where required, involve a course at the exam office and can be rebooked similarly.