Jeju Island Practical Travel Guide: Rental Car IDP Rules, Coastal Stays & Wind Tips

Jeju dining revolves around thick-cut black pork (`heukdwaeji`) seared by staff right at your table and dipped into a tiny stainless cup of bubbling salted anchovy sauce (`meljeot`), alongside whole silver hairtail braised in radish broth (`galchijorim`) and abalone porridge for breakfast. Across Korea, every side dish (`banchan`) from kimchi to seasoned seaweeds is 100% free to refill—either flag staff via the table call bell or top up at the self-bar—and tipping does not exist anywhere on the island.

If your spice tolerance runs mild, keep `"An maep-ge hae-ju-se-yo"` (please make it non-spicy) handy, or balance fiery red stews with grilled mackerel and Jeju hallabong citrus juice. For street snacks like flamethrower lobster black-pork rolls and tangerine mochi at Dongmun Traditional Night Market near the airport, arrive between 5:30 and 6:15 PM before evening flight crowds pack the narrow central aisle shoulder-to-shoulder.

At Jeju Airport’s shuttle-connected rental car houses, staff strictly enforce South Korean traffic law: you must hand over a physical paper 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit booklet (valid for one year from issue), your original physical domestic driver’s license, your passport, and a physical credit card in the main driver’s name. Digital licenses on phone apps or 1968 Vienna-only permits are turned away on the spot. Once behind the wheel, ignore Google Maps—national map security rules block turn-by-turn directions in Korea, so switch Naver Map or KakaoMap to English, which even announces overhead speed cameras and school zones (30 km/h strict limit!).

Not driving? Load a T-money card with cash at any CU or GS25 convenience store, or grab a WOWPASS card at the airport to top up with foreign currency and pay like a local debit card plus transit pass. Remember to tap your card both boarding AND exiting Jeju’s color-coded buses so the system calculates distance fares properly and grants free 30-minute transfers.