Before you start

An Alien Registration Card — the exchange is for residents only
Your foreign licence plus an apostille or embassy confirmation of authenticity
Passport with entry and exit records
Three colour photos, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, taken within six months

Step-by-step

1
Obtain the IDP before leaving home
Korea recognises 1949 Geneva Convention permits, issued only in the country that issued your licence. Valid for one year from your date of entry, and must be carried with the original home licence — the permit alone is not a licence. It cannot be obtained after you arrive.
In personWho: You, in your home countryBefore departureLocal IDP fee, typically under US$25
2
Get the apostille at the same time
KoROAD requires proof your foreign licence is genuine. An apostille from the issuing authority is the reliable route, since several embassies in Seoul have stopped issuing confirmation letters. Arranging one after you move means posting documents home and waiting weeks.
In personWho: You, in your home countryBefore departureVaries by country
3
Check KoROAD's reciprocity list for your country
Acknowledged countries skip both the written and practical tests, leaving an eyesight and aptitude check. Everyone else sits a 40-question written test, available in English. A few countries have class-limited or partial arrangements, so read the entry for yours rather than assuming.
OnlineWho: YouBefore booking
4
Attend the KoROAD examination office
Bring the ARC, passport with entry records, foreign licence, apostille and photos. Usually completed the same day, though allow half a day. Your foreign licence is surrendered and held until you permanently leave Korea, so obtain a duplicate at home first if you will need it abroad.
In personWho: YouOften same dayLicence issuance fee KRW 10,000, or KRW 15,000 for the IC card
5
Get a Hi-Pass transponder if you will cross to Yeongjong
Both bridges to Yeongjong Island are tolled, and the airport expressway with them. A Hi-Pass transponder is close to essential because many gantries no longer have staffed booths, and it carries a small discount. Yeongjong residents have historically received a city-funded toll subsidy, but the arrangement has been renegotiated more than once — confirm the current terms with the district office rather than with a landlord.
In personWho: YouSame dayTransponder plus per-crossing tolls
6
Work out your transit reality before deciding against a car
A transit card covers Incheon's two metro lines, the airport railway, the Suin-Bundang line and every bus, with free transfers, and Incheon fares integrate with Seoul's distance-based system. But Songdo to central Seoul is comfortably over an hour and there is no fast link between the FEZ districts. Test your actual commute on a weekday morning before signing a lease.
In personWho: You5 minutes for the cardCard roughly KRW 2,500–4,000; fares from about KRW 1,550

Documents you’ll need

Alien Registration Card
Passport with entry and exit records
Foreign driver's licence plus apostille or embassy confirmation
Three colour photos, 3.5 × 4.5 cm
International Driving Permit, if driving before conversion

Things most newcomers don’t know

Incheon is the Korean city where owning a car is a reasonable default rather than an eccentricity.

Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong were built on reclaimed land with generous roads and abundant parking, and the metro links between them are poor to non-existent — Cheongna to Songdo by public transport is a long, awkward journey for a short distance. Households that would never own a car in Seoul often do here, and the buildings are designed on that assumption.

Source: community-reported

The tolls to Yeongjong are a monthly housing cost, not a travel cost.

Both crossings to the island are tolled in each direction, so anyone commuting off the island from Yeongjong pays every working day. Island residents have had a city-supported discount, but the level and the mechanism have changed with successive negotiations. Price it at the current rate for your actual commute before letting cheaper Yeongjong rents make the decision for you.

Source: community-reported

Both documents the exchange requires can only be obtained where you came from.

The Geneva Convention IDP and the apostille proving your licence is genuine are both issued by authorities in the licence's home country. Once you are in Incheon, fixing either means couriering paperwork home and waiting. People discover this at the KoROAD counter months after the point where it was a trivial errand — sort both before you fly.

Source: KoROAD; US Embassy Seoul

The airport railway is faster to Seoul than to most of Incheon.

AREX runs express and all-stop services from the airport into Seoul Station, but it serves only a thin corridor of Incheon itself. Someone living in Songdo or Bupyeong reaches central Seoul more easily than they reach their own city's airport terminal. Plan a Songdo commute against the Suin-Bundang line and the buses instead, and treat the airport as a taxi or a car journey.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving without a Geneva Convention IDP and finding it cannot be obtained in Korea.
Leaving the apostille until after the move and waiting weeks for documents from home.
Renting on Yeongjong without pricing the daily bridge tolls into the rent.
Assuming the airport railway makes the airport convenient from anywhere in Incheon.
Surrendering your original foreign licence without first obtaining a duplicate at home.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.