➡️ Right-hand traffic

Korea drives on the right side. This applies to:

• Driving on roads
• Walking in subway stations
• Entering and exiting buildings
• Moving through parking lots

At entrances and exits, keep right. Most parking lots follow the same rule.

But in real parking lots, lanes are often too narrow for this rule alone. You'll often face:

• 🌀 Tight underground ramps
• 🔄 Curves where another car suddenly appears
• ↔️ One-car-wide passages
• 🚗↔️🚗 Cars entering and exiting at the same time

In these cases, the next rule applies ⬇️

🤝 Courtesy is skill

When the rules don't clearly apply, whoever can yield more easily, yields.

Koreans usually judge by:

• Who arrived first?
• Who has less room to maneuver?
• Who can reverse more easily?

👉 In Korean parking lots, flexibility and courtesy matter more than strict priority rules.

What "good parking" means in Korea

In Korea, "good at parking" doesn't just mean "fits the car in one shot."

It also means:

• ☐ Did you leave space for others to pass?
• ☐ Can the next car's door open fully?
• ☐ Are you not blocking anyone's exit?
• ☐ Is the car straight, not sticking out?
• ☐ Did you park without disrupting the flow?
• ☐ Are you reachable if someone needs you to move?

So in Korea, parking is less about technique, more about:

🎯 Spatial awareness + Courtesy + Quick judgment

3) Top 3 must-know manners

1️⃣ Leave your phone number 📞

Korean drivers often leave a contact number visible inside the windshield.

Why?

• Spaces are tight — others may need you to move
• Double parking happens (more on this below)
• Someone might need to get out and your car is in the way

Common in:

• 🏢 Apartments
• 🏪 Shopping centers
• 🏚️ Older buildings

👉 Privacy tip: Many Koreans now use QR codes instead of writing their full phone number, due to privacy concerns. Apps generate a temporary contact QR — others scan it and can call without seeing your real number.

⚠️ Foreign visitors: If you don't have a Korean number, leave your rental car company's phone number + your name. They'll forward urgent messages to you.

2️⃣ Hazard lights (비상점멸등) 🚨

Koreans use hazard lights in many situations. Common parking-related uses:

• "I'm briefly stopped"
• "I'm trying to park"
• "Sorry / thank you / please wait" (apology to other drivers)

Example: Right before pulling into a tight space, drivers often turn on hazards to say "I need a moment."

⚠️ Important reminder:

Hazard lights are a SIGNAL, not a PERMIT.

Turning on hazards does NOT make illegal parking legal. You can still get fined, towed, or reported even with hazards on.

3️⃣ Double parking (이중주차) 🚗🚗

In Korean apartment complexes and old building parking lots, you may see cars double-parked — a second row of cars parked behind the first row.

This is a practical workaround for limited space, not an officially recommended method.

If you double-park, follow these rules:

• ✅ Leave your contact number (very important!)
• ✅ Keep the car in neutral gear (so others can push it aside)
• ✅ Don't block any other car's exit
• ✅ Be ready to come move it quickly when called

👉 Double parking is common in Korea — but it's a tolerated practice, not a free pass. Don't do it just anywhere.

4) Apartments and buildings have a different vibe

Apartment and office building parking lots feel different from public roads.

You might pull in to make a quick turnaround and end up wasting 30 minutes — because the gate won't open, and you have to call the security office to get out.

Common situations

• 🚪 Gate only opens for registered cars
• 📋 Visitor cars need separate registration
• 🌙 Parking is hard to find at night
• 🚗🚗 Double parking appears
• 📞 Each building has its own rules and security office

In these spaces, building rules and resident manners matter more than national law.

Rules to follow

• ✅ Visiting? Check registration before pulling in
• ✅ Leaving the car for a while? Avoid double parking
• ✅ Leave your contact number

👉 Tip for visitors: When visiting someone, ask them to register your car at the security office in advance. It saves time.

5) 5 Special parking zones ⚠️

These zones look like normal spots, but parking there can mean big fines. Know what they look like.

🔌 EV charging zones (전기차 충전구역)

• Required at 2–5%+ of total parking spots in major facilities
• Based on the Eco-Friendly Vehicle Act

Fines (up to ₩200,000) for:

• Non-EVs parking here
• Blocking with objects
• Damaging the line markings
• Damaging the charger
• Leaving your car after charging is done
• Using the spot for non-charging purposes

🔗 [See our EV charging guide for details]

♿ Disabled parking zones (장애인전용주차구역)

⚠️ Korea takes this VERY seriously. Reports and fines have surged in recent years — even brief stops are caught by CCTV and citizen reports (Safety Report app).

Fines:

✅ You can park in a disabled zone ONLY if BOTH are true:

1. The car has an official disabled parking permit displayed
2. A person with a walking disability is actually in the car

👉 "I'll just stop for 1 minute" is NOT an exception. Even brief stops can trigger a fine.

🚗 Compact car zones (경차 전용)

For compact cars (경차) — small Korean cars under specific size limits.

• Compact + EV combined must make up 10%+ of total spots
• 👉 Enforcement is loose. Many regular cars park here too. Fines exist but are rarely issued.
• Still — if a real compact car needs the spot and you're blocking it, that's bad form.

🏠 Resident-only zones (거주자우선)

Already covered in Part 1. Quick recap:

• Reserved for local residents
• Fine up to ₩40,000
• Often: phone warning first → tow if no response

🔗 [Part 1: The Rules →] for full details

👩 Women-only / Family-friendly zones (여성전용 / 가족배려)

Run by local government ordinances, not national law.

• Originally women-only, now shifting to "family-friendly" (가족배려) spots
• Eligible users include:
  • Pregnant women
  • Adults with infants/young children
  • Elderly or mobility-limited people
  • Caregivers accompanying them
• 👉 Enforcement is softer — usually rule-based, not heavily fined. But it's still bad manners to use these spots if you don't qualify.

📊 Quick comparison: How strict is enforcement?

👉 Bottom line: EV and disabled zones are the ones to really avoid. The others are more about good manners.

6) Final summary 🎯

If you remember just these, you'll be fine:

• 🔄 Reverse parking is the default — get used to it
• 🐢 In tight spaces, slow down and judge carefully
• 📞 Phone number on dashboard is a real Korean habit
• 🚨 Hazard lights are a signal, not a permit
• 🚗🚗 Double parking is tolerated, but never blanket-OK
• 🤝 In parking lots, courtesy matters as much as rules

The key isn't memorizing complex rules.It's understanding how people share narrow spaces together.

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