Renting a Car in Korea as a Foreigner: IDP and Insurance

Korea is an easy country to drive in once you’re on the road: wide highways, cheap tolls, and cameras that announce themselves. The hard part comes before you get the keys. Whether your license works at all depends on which treaty your country signed, and the insurance menu at the counter uses Korean terms nobody explains.

This is Part 1 of our 7-part Korea driving series. It covers everything you need to sort out before pickup.

Which driving licenses does Korea accept?

Korea accepts an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention or the 1968 Vienna Convention. Either one is valid for one year from the day you enter Korea (Road Traffic Act Art. 96), and only for private and rental cars, not commercial vehicles.

There are two more routes: countries with a bilateral agreement with Korea, and licenses recognized under reciprocity for long-term residents. For a short trip, the IDP is what counts.

🪪 Can you drive a rental car in Korea? (by where your license is from)

License from	Status	What to know
Japan, US, UK, most of Europe, Australia	✅ Accepted	Geneva-convention IDP
Hong Kong, Macau	✅ Accepted	IDP recognized separately from mainland China
Taiwan	⚠️ Recognised, confirm with the company	Bilateral memorandum since Feb 17, 2022, but Lotte’s FAQ lists only Geneva and Vienna permits — get written confirmation
Vietnam	⚠️ Valid by law, confirm with the company	Vienna-convention country, so the IDP is valid by law; confirm in writing that your rental company accepts it
Indonesia	⚠️ Check before you book	We could not confirm acceptance; ask the rental company in writing
Mainland China	❌ Not valid	China signed neither convention

Driving on an unrecognized license isn’t a technicality. It counts as 무면허 운전 (unlicensed driving), with up to one year in prison or a ₩3 million fine, and your insurance won’t cover a crash.

Two more traps:

• Online “international driver’s licenses” don’t count. Lotte Rent-a-Car explicitly refuses permits from private organizations and the so-called “EU International Driver’s License”. It must be the official IDP from your government’s issuing body.
• The 1-year clock starts at entry. If you live in Korea on a long-term visa, you’ll need a Korean license once that year is up.

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What do you need at the rental counter?

• Passport (the entry stamp or record proves your 1-year window)
• Original IDP (no photocopies or photos)
• Your home driver's license (the IDP is only a translation of it)
• A debit or credit card (Lotte takes Visa, Mastercard and American Express)

At Lotte Rent-a-Car, Korea’s largest company, renters and additional drivers must be at least 21, and 15-seat vans need a renter aged 26 or over. Other companies set their own young-driver fees, so check the quote. Lotte’s English line is +82-2-797-8000 (weekdays 08:30–19:00).

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Which rental insurance should you pick?

The counter will offer collision cover in three levels. The Korean word to recognize is 자차 (jacha), short for “own-vehicle damage”.

🛡️ The three levels of rental collision cover in Korea

Level	Korean	What it usually means
Basic	일반자차	Cover up to a set limit; you pay an excess and anything above it
Full	완전자차	₩0 excess, with exclusions listed in the contract
Super	슈퍼자차	Widest cover; exclusions and extras vary by company

If you damage the car, Korean companies can also charge 휴차보상료, compensation for the days the car sits in the repair shop. At Lotte it’s 50% of the daily rate for each repair day, and it applies even if you took the collision damage waiver. Lotte offers international customers a waiver with no excess, except on imported models, so check what your booking already includes before paying for an upgrade.

On Jeju, a provincial rule in force since September 16, 2026 requires rental companies to state their excess, loss-of-use charge and scope of cover in the rental terms. Read those lines at the counter rather than relying on the tier’s name.

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Which navigation app works for driving in Korea?

Not Google Maps, at least not yet. Korea approved Google’s request to export map data in February 2026, but as of late August 2026 turn-by-turn driving navigation still hadn’t launched, with no release date.

What Koreans actually use:

• Kakao Navi (카카오내비): clean interface, reliable traffic.
• TMAP (티맵): the most popular dedicated driving app.
• Naver Map (네이버 지도): works in English, handy if you already use it for restaurants.

All three warn you about speed cameras ahead, which is the single most useful feature for avoiding a fine. Part 3 explains the camera system.

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Where is renting a car worth it?

In central Seoul, a car is mostly a parking bill: the subway is faster and our parking guide shows why. A car pays off on Jeju, on the east coast (Gangneung, Sokcho), in the countryside, and for families with small children or older parents. If you’re on the fence for Jeju, compare costs in Jeju without a rental car.

Jeju caps its rental fleet (a target of 28,499 cars, with new registrations limited until September 20, 2028), so book early for high season.