South Korea on an Italian Licence — IDP Required & the 130-to-110 Drop

South Korea is a relaxed place to drive once the paperwork is sorted — modern motorways, clear English signage under the hangeul, and a road network that opens up the coast and mountains. For an Italian visitor the catch is that your EU licence rights stop at the airport, and the open-road habits need reining in.

You need the IDP. South Korea accepts the 1949 Geneva International Driving Permit, and your Italian licence is valid only when carried with it. This applies even though you are an EU citizen — there is no exemption, no airport counter and no grace period, and a rental desk will turn you away without it. Get the permit from an ACI office before you fly, and double-check with the Driving Permit Checker.

The on-road change is speed. Korean motorways cap at 110 km/h, down from the 130 you know on the Autostrade, and the limit is enforced by fixed and average-speed cameras rather than left flashes. Towns run 50 and rural roads 80. About 10 km/h over typically costs around KRW 30,000 (roughly EUR 20) — work out any penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator. Set the cruise and let the faster cars go.

Alcohol is stricter as well: the limit is 0.03 against Italy’s 0.05, with frequent checkpoints, so plan zero before driving. You stay on the right, exactly as at home, so there’s no side switch — the only stylistic shift is that Korean city traffic changes lanes faster and more assertively than you may expect.

Petrol is around $1.42/litre, and the emergency number is 112. Keep your IDP, licence and passport together, download offline maps for rural routes signed only in Korean, and read the licence section of the South Korea driving guide before you book.