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Is it really that easy to get a driver's license in Korea?

Dudie

By Dudie
in soompi hangout

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Dudie Fan Level: 20

Dudie

Posted
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I'm watching the couple Khutoria on We Got Married and there Nichkhun gets his driver's license. Now I wonder is it really just a physical, written test and that drivers course outside to get your license? Don't they have to practise between real traffic? I find that a bit strange because here you need to take lessons in real traffic, do 2 exams (driving and written exam) and you can take lessons how you can use your breaks better on a special course. I wonder if an Korean license is even legal outside Korea if it's really that easy.

I did google a bit but I only find stuff about tourists swapping thier countries driver's license for a Korean but that's not what I mean.

Maybe this question is asked before but I couldn't really find it.. Ohh and I don't plan to drive in Korea when I finally have my country's drivers license.

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Guest monkeyinabarrel

Guest monkeyinabarrel

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I'm going to go with the latter. According to the Embassy's website, to obtain a Korean license:  

If you do not want to turn in your driver’s license to  the DLA, you must apply for a local Korean license and:

Pass a written test (in English)

Pass a driving test

Attend a safety class

-source

I know it's not talking about getting a drivers license as a korean but this is the closest I found to it

If you really want to know you could try to access the Google's korean site and google from there since most english sites are how to get an international drivers license. Just copy and paste the korean text into an online translator and hope for the best (you don't always get the right translations with them)

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Guest nobody knows

Guest nobody knows

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this isn't Korea, but I'm going to assume it's roughly the same--

my cousin (Taiwan) has her license. all she had to do was take the written test in the morning, and then road test in the afternoon, the same day.

however she very rarely (more like never) drives because the roads are insane and it's a lot more convenient to just take the subway/bus

she also doesn't have a car. and if everyone in her family (her dad works in China, so he doesn't have his own car) had a car, where are they gonna park all these cars in their apartment parking lot? if every family had a car for every 18+ person-- it's just not space efficient

so

yeah. getting a license might be easy, but the afterwards are complicated

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Guest Naked-Fanatic

Guest Naked-Fanatic

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I got my Korean driver's license simply by registering for it and showing them my US driver's license. But the law changed some years later. I heard that the foreigners need to take a test now.

In Korea, drivers need to practice in a practicing area before they practice in real traffic.

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Mannosuke Fan Level: 30

Mannosuke

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I got my Korean driver's license simply by registering for it and showing them my US driver's license. But the law changed some years later. I heard that the foreigners need to take a test now.

In Korea, drivers need to practice in a practicing area before they practice in real traffic.

I heard the traffic situation in korea is pretty bad, like those in china or india.

I wonder if this "practice area" is intense and not like the kind of practice area I'm thinking of.

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Guest Naked-Fanatic

Guest Naked-Fanatic

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I heard the traffic situation in korea is pretty bad, like those in china or india.

I wonder if this "practice area" is intense and not like the kind of practice area I'm thinking of.

It's the same kind as the one you were thinking of. They just teach how to operate a car, go through narrow alleys, start moving from uphill, etc. The hard part starts at the real traffic. The students drive real slow. The instructor probably makes them drive slow in case they make a dangerous error.

Many beginners in Korea stick a beginner sign on their rear window. They take it off when they get used to the Korean traffic. It's easy to get used to. You'd start to drive like the other Koreans pretty soon. I rented a car in China and got used to it quickly. I was concerned at first because the Chinese drivers tend to cross the middle line. China turned out to be easier than Korea because there was less traffic. I visited an area that had a much less population than the cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

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Guest Naked-Fanatic

Guest Naked-Fanatic

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Wouldn't you prefer to walk, especially when you live in a busy city in Asia?

Most of my clients work outside the city where their warehouses and factories are so I need my car to meet them.

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Guest Naked-Fanatic

Guest Naked-Fanatic

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Yea. Driving in heavy and dangerous traffic would require constant gear shifting if the car isn't auto.

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Guest Starblazerbon

Guest Starblazerbon

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If this 70 years old woman tried out for a driver's license in Korea for about 200 times... it doesn't sounds easy to me.  :ph34r:

She is 70 years old. If you factor her age alone you can probably see why she would struggle to get her license. I don't know if it is the same person you are talking about but from what I remember she was also illiterate.

Also watch this.

Video

This should give you some reassurance of how hard the Driver test in Korea is. There are some rather infelicitous drivers in that video.

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Guest kidfromkorea

Guest kidfromkorea

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yes.

its extremely easy to get a license in korea. you could get a full license as fast one week if you put your time and dedication to it.

tests are not hard and you could try multiple times in one day.

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