While you may be eager to throw your essentials in a bag, grab some cash, and just catch the next train to the first city on your list of “Places to Visit in Korea,” you should probably do a bit of planning when it comes to transportation. An integral part of planning your travels will be figuring out how you will be getting from here to there. Based on my personal experience, one of the biggest things I would encourage for transport planning would be flexibility, specifically if you are taking the public-transport-only approach. At various points in my trip, I faced hurdles in arranging transportation, both inter- and intra-city. As such, I will give an overview of transportation methods, as well as tips on how to avoid the mistakes I made so that you can make the most out of your time travelling!
Special notice: while these posts may be helpful to many types of readers, they are certainly geared towards those who are as clueless as I was regarding the process of longer-term travel, especially the navigation aspect. I am far from an expert on travel but through my experiences, I have garnered a bit of travel savvy—and I emphasize “a bit”! The information below is based predominantly on my personal opinion and certainly on my own experience, so please keep this in mind.
If you have seen my previous posts, you are probably aware by now that I enjoy going in-depth into each topic of discussion, and that is certainly still the case with this post! As such, I have decided to split the transportation posts into mode of transportation in order to avoid overwhelming you! So, I encourage you to view each post, but you are also more than welcome to pick and choose the ones most relevant to your particular situation! I will be starting with the discussion of cars—so buckle up!
Let me first start by sharing the PROS of relying upon cars while traveling in Korea, if that is an option for you.It is possible to rent a car in South Korea. However, you have to be at least 21 to rent a car and must hold an international driver’s license to operate said car. If this applies to you, read on; if not, go ahead and start looking into other transportation options. Korea drives on the right side of the road and the cars are the same style as what we are familiar with in the United States, so this does not pose a challenge. Many road signs, at least in larger cities, are in both Korean and English, so even for those unfamiliar with Korean, you can likely navigate without much of a challenge especially if you are relying on GPS anyways. In more rural, less populated regions, driving is simple and not overly stressful, arguably even enjoyable at times, as driving allows you to see more of a region that a subway or bus might have you miss. If you are travelling with a group, traveling by car may be cheaper as gasoline costs and parking fees can simply be divided amongst the group members, potentially costing each person less than individual bus and train fares might. Lastly, cars are, with the exception perhaps of areas that have subways systems, the fastest option of transportation and allow for more freedom of travel.
Now let’s take a look at the CONS. Again, you must be over 21 to rent a car and under the age of 65, so even if you have been driving for years, you may not be qualified to rent a car during your time in Korea1. This is especially noteworthy for university students studying here who do not meet the criteria for car rental; for weekend trips or longer-term adventures, you will either have to travel with a friend who is old enough to rent a car (and is willing to be the chauffer of the group for the entire trip), or you will be forced to rely on public transport. Next, even if you are old enough to rent a car, you must also be in possession of a local license for at least a year OR, what would be the more likely option for international travelers, you must apply for and receive an international driving permit (IDP) in addition to having had your home license for a full year (note: some websites state that you must have had your license for a year before attempting to rent a car in Korea, while others claim that only a year of experience driving is required—which could technically mean that had you only had a permit and only recently received a license, you would still be eligible)2 3. If you are uncertain about whether your situation renders you ineligible for car rental, I would advise contacting the rental company you are looking into directly, and inquire about age requirements, licensing requirements, and additional fees. Attaining an international driving permit can be accomplished by stopping by your local AAA, presenting your valid driver’s license, filling out some basic paperwork, and then posing for a glamorous passport sized photo that will be used for your international driving permit. It is very important that you use your passport name for your IDP so that the name listed on your passport exactly matches that on the IDP4. Requirements aside, you will also almost certainly be required to pay with credit card when renting your vehicle, so if you do not have one or have too low a limit to use for car rental, you will be unable to rent a car for your trip. While it is easy enough to obtain an IDP, it is a crucial step that most travelers (especially students) fail to consider or pursue prior to leaving the U.S, leaving them unable to rent a car or legally drive while abroad. Of course, other challenges exist, such as the stressful driving conditions found in larger cities like Seoul, Ulsan, Busan, Daegu, or Daejeon. Even seasoned drivers often see these intense, loud, and crammed traffic scenarios whilst riding in the back of a taxi and vow that they will never, EVER endeavor navigating the wild and aggressive traffic of large Korean cities. While such conditions may be familiar to those hailing from larger cities back home, for those unaccustomed to big city life, I would not recommend making your first entre into metropolitan rush hour driving while in Korea.
Undoubtedly, relying on a car provides a traveler more control, freedom, and potentially cost-efficiency during their trip. However, as displayed above, renting a car may not only be difficult, but even impossible. At this point, if you match the criteria for an eligible car renter, and enjoy traveling with this mode of transport, I give you full permission to close the tab and switch on over to a car rental site instead. Especially if you are traveling in more rural regions, such as Taebaek or Jeju, I would encourage renting a car as public transport in areas outside of the main metropolitan hubs can be nightmarish to navigate at times. If you are for whatever reason ineligible for car rental, prefer the rush of public transportation reliance, or simply do not feel confident driving in a foreign country, then the below sections will hopefully help give you a sense of what you will be up against while traversing South Korea.
I will discuss the three primary methods of travel that are available within Korea—trains, buses, and subways—and will briefly touch on flights and ferry rides at the end of the subseries. Note that my area of expertise lies primarily on the former three and thus, these sections will be more detailed. So, if a rental car isn’t in the cards for you, check back in soon for another post on travel transportation. Up next: trains!
Helpful Hints:
-If you are over 21, have had at least a year of driving experience/licensure, and have a credit card, go ahead and apply for an International Driving Permit (IDP) at your local AAA before leaving for Korea! With an IDP, you can rent a car allowing for more ease of travel and far more scheduling flexibility.
-Unless your trip is spontaneous in nature, researching and possibly even booking car rentals ahead of time may lead to better rates, but also provides the opportunity to make special arrangements for scheduling and planning. This also allows time to ask questions about restrictions, payment, and so forth.
-If you intend to rent a car in Korea, make sure to bring identification. I would encourage you to bring more than one form (such as your ARC and passport or your passport and your U.S. driver’s license) simply to be sure. Additionally, although this may or may not be a requirement, I would highly encourage carrying both your IDP and your home driver’s license with you while travelling by car in case of emergency.
-If you hold a credit card with a smaller company (as in, not a card with a major bank), I would check ahead of time with the rental company you are interested in whether or not they accept your card. Especially in more rural regions, it is not uncommon to run into problems with international cards even if they are from major companies. As such, this is something to look into before arriving to both Korea as well as to your travel destination; the car rental company may accept only major foreign cards, so this is a very important factor to consider.
References:
1 2 https://www.kayak.com/South-Korea-Car-Rentals.132.crc.html
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