Dobong (도봉운전면허시험장) KoROAD Driving Test Routes

KoROAD lists seven steps for a first class 1 or class 2 ordinary (car) licence: (1) a 1-hour pre-test traffic safety course, free; (2) a physical check-up; (3) the written test; (4) the course test (기능시험) inside the test centre; (5) a learner's permit; (6) the road test (도로주행); (7) licence issue at the test centre. Learners who complete a registered driving school take the course and road checks at the school, then collect the licence at a test centre.

Each test centre has four fixed road-test courses, each at least 5 km long, and one of them is chosen by draw on the day. A navigation voice guides you along the course, and an English voice guide is available. The examiner scores 57 items, such as yielding to emergency vehicles, school zones and speed limits. You need 70 points to pass. The fee is 30,000 won.

KoROAD lists conditions that end the road test, including: failing to start, stalling, harsh braking or sudden moves three or more times; causing or nearly causing a crash; ignoring a signal or the examiner's instructions; not protecting pedestrians; speeding in a child, senior or disabled protection zone; going 10 km/h or more over a posted limit; not keeping to the right of the centre line; not yielding to emergency vehicles; and not wearing a seatbelt. Phone use that stops you driving normally is also on the list.

The written test has 40 multiple-choice questions from KoROAD's published question bank and lasts 40 minutes. The pass mark is 70 points for class 1 and 60 points for class 2. It can be taken in Korean, English, Chinese or Vietnamese, and the fee is 10,000 won. Bring the application form, ID and three colour photos (3.5 x 4.5 cm) taken in the last six months. Your score is shown on screen as soon as you finish.

The class 1 and 2 ordinary course test is held inside the test centre. It covers driving at least 300 m, using the controls, keeping in lane with an emergency stop, a hill stop and start, left and right turns, right-angle parking, a signalled junction and an acceleration section. You need 80 points to pass and the fee is 25,000 won. Not wearing a seatbelt, touching a kerb or crossing the stop line at the signal ends the test.

After passing the written and course tests you can apply for a learner's permit (연습면허) for 4,000 won. It is valid for one year from issue, and you must pass the road test within that year. If it expires you cannot book the road test and have to sit the written and course tests again, though you do not repeat the safety course.

The course test and the road test can be booked online on KoROAD's safedriving.or.kr or at a test centre, and someone else can book for you with a letter of authority. The written test is taken at the centre on the day, with an online visit-time reservation. After failing the course or road test you can retake it once three days have passed: fail on Monday and you can retest from Thursday.

Do not run a phone app during the test. KoROAD lists phone use that stops you driving normally among the reasons for failing the road test, and the course is guided by the test car's own navigation voice. If you want to share your course on AUDrive, record it on a separate drive after the test, or draw it on the map.

KoROAD runs 27 driver's licence test centres (운전면허시험장), and all 27 hold class 1 and class 2 ordinary (car) tests. Not every centre takes every licence class: Gangnam, for example, stopped large-vehicle and special-vehicle tests after 31 October 2024 but still holds car tests. Check KoROAD's list of tests by centre before you book.

KoROAD says the Chuncheon, Gangneung, Taebaek, Chungju, Gwangyang and Mungyeong test centres have no on-site check-up room, so learners there have their physical check-up at a nearby hospital first. Hospital fees vary. A national health screening record can also be used if you consent to the records check at the centre.

Yes, in person at any test centre. A full, valid foreign licence is exchanged for a Korean class 2 ordinary licence; learner, provisional and temporary licences cannot be exchanged. Licences from countries Korea recognises need only an aptitude (physical) check; others also need the 40-question written test. You need an embassy confirmation or apostille for the licence and an immigration record showing a stay of more than 90 days in the issuing country. Licences from Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Ireland can convert to the matching class.

KoROAD says test centres open on weekdays from 9am to 6pm; Saturday hours vary by centre. Written tests are accepted on weekdays from 9am to 5pm, with no testing from 12 to 1pm. KoROAD's centre page lists no phone number for each centre: the national call centre is 1577-1120, and foreign-language chat is offered on KakaoTalk.

No per-centre pass rate is published as open data. KoROAD's open data on data.go.kr gives the number of tests sat at each centre. In 2023 the busiest centres for road tests were Yongin (22,472 road tests), Gangnam (18,928), Gangseo (18,018), Seobu (17,524) and Busan Bukbu (15,358). Taebaek was the smallest, with 1,556.

Korea drives on the right, and distances and speed limits are in kilometres. Not keeping to the right of the centre line is one of the conditions that end the road test. Learners used to left-hand traffic, as in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, should practise turns and junction positioning before the test.