Confirm driving eligibility before booking
Check the Road Traffic Act, Article 96 and the rental company's requirements for your documents. Korea recognises permits under specified conventions and agreements, but your permit must remain valid and cover the vehicle you will drive. A reference to one year from entry does not extend an expired permit or licence.
Carry your valid home licence, passport and any required International Driving Permit. Ask the rental company in writing about the exact permit and issuing country before travel. Do not assume a foreign licence is accepted merely because it is written in English.
Check age, driving-experience and insurance requirements, and name every driver on the contract.
Renting, and where the cars actually are
You do not collect a car at the terminal. Jeju Airport's rental page sets out the walk: leave by gate 3 or gate 5 on level 1, cross the pedestrian crossing, follow the "this way to Renter Car House" (렌터카하우스 가는길) signs under the canopy, and find your operator's numbered shuttle bay. The rental-car house is the shuttle boarding area. Your operator’s shuttle takes you from there to its rental depot. Allow time for the shuttle and collection paperwork.
The operators with a presence at the airport itself are Lotte Rent-a-Car (롯데렌터카), whose desk is beside gate 2 on level 1 (064-751-8000), Tamla Rent-a-Car (탐라렌터카) on 1644-3302 and Jeju Rent-a-Car (제주렌트카) on 064-742-3307. The provincial tourism organisation keeps a wider directory of licensed island operators.
Read what the rental company’s collision cover includes. Products described as 일반자차 or 완전자차 can differ in their excess, exclusions and claim conditions. Ask about tyres, wheels, towing and loss-of-use charges rather than assuming an upgrade covers everything. Name every driver on the contract and confirm that the cover applies to each of them.
Cameras, and the fine that follows you home
Jeju is heavily camera-enforced, and hire cars are over-represented in its crash statistics: rental cars account for 11.4% of all road accidents on Jeju — the only region in Korea in double figures. From 24 March 2025 the island's own 제주특별자치도 자치경찰단 (Jeju Self-Governing Police) began deploying bidirectional automatic enforcement cameras that photograph the front and the rear of a vehicle.
Penalty notices go to the registered keeper, which is the rental company, and the company re-issues them to whoever was driving — usually against whatever payment method you left on file, often weeks after you have gone home. Jeju runs its own fine portal at jmpfine.jeju.go.kr rather than using the national one.
The buses — and the thing that stops you at the terminal door
You cannot pay cash. Jeju abolished cash fares across its bus network: a trial from 1 July 2024, full effect from 1 October 2024 when the fareboxes were physically removed, and the temporary bank-transfer fallback withdrawn on 1 January 2025. Every route entry on the airport's own bus listing ends with the same note: 2024.07 이후 현금 불가 — no cash accepted from July 2024. Buy a Tmoney (Korea's nationwide rechargeable transit card) or Cashbee card at a convenience store before you leave the terminal, and add enough money before boarding.
Fares, once you have one:
| Type | Card | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 급행 (express) — 101, 111, 121, 122, 131, 132, 151, 181, 182 | ₩2,000 and up | distance-based (거리비례); ₩3,000 is the top band |
| 일반 / 심야 (ordinary and night) | ₩1,150 | flat |
| 리무진 (limousine) 600 / 601 | ₩1,300 – ₩5,500 | distance-based |
| 리무진 800 / 801 | ₩1,300 – ₩5,000 | distance-based |
| 시티투어 (city tour) 1111 | ₩5,000 | not Mondays |
The routes that matter to a visitor, all boarding from numbered stands outside the arrivals level:
- 600 / 601 limousine — Jungmun and Seogwipo. From the stand outside gate 5, run by the bus operator 삼영교통 (064-713-7000). The 600 runs 06:30 to 22:20 roughly every 50 minutes and calls at Jeju Sun Hotel, Lotte City Hotel, Halla Hospital, the Jungmun resort entrance, the Grand Josun, Parnas, Shilla, Lotte and Kensington hotels, the convention centre, the Jusangjeolli cliffs, Yakcheonsa, the World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo port and finally the Seogwipo KAL Hotel. If you are staying in Jungmun, this is your bus. The 601 runs the reverse from 06:00 to 21:02, every 20 to 60 minutes.
- 800 / 801 limousine — Seogwipo via the Pyeonghwa highway. From the stand outside gate 4, 06:50 to 20:15, every 40 to 80 minutes, plus a late 800-1 at 22:30 and 23:00.
- 111 / 101 express — Seongsan Ilchulbong and the east coast. The 111 leaves from gate 1 and runs 06:50 to 21:30 every 40 to 77 minutes, via the bus terminal, Jeju City Hall and Songdang to the Seongsan Ilchulbong entrance and the ferry terminal. The 101 takes the coastal road instead and calls at Hamdeok, Gimnyeong, Woljeong-ri and Sehwa.
- 102 / 151 express — Hallim, Daejeong and the west. From gate 2 and gate 4 respectively; the 151 goes via Jeju Shinhwa World, Osulloc and the international schools.
- 182 express — Seogwipo over the Pyeonghwa highway. From gate 4, 06:45 to 21:30, every 30 to 60 minutes.
- 365 and 302 — Jeju City. Ordinary buses to City Hall and the university, every 10 to 20 minutes; the densest service the island has.
- 3001 night bus — 22:15 to 00:25, the only thing running late.
Read those intervals before you plan. A 40-to-77-minute gap means that missing a bus at Seongsan can cost you an hour and a quarter with nowhere to sit. The routes to Namwon (131, 132) run every 125 to 155 minutes. Service frequency varies considerably. Check both the outward and return buses for a volcanic hill, coastal walk or Olle trail.
There is also a 902 autonomous bus running twice on weekdays between the airport, Sinjeju rotary and Lotte Mart, but check the current route and operating days before relying on it.
Taxis
The airport publishes indicative fares, and they are the clearest illustration of the island's size:
| Destination | Time | Standard (일반) | Deluxe (모범) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeju City Hall (제주시청) | 30 min | ₩9,000 | ₩16,200 |
| Aewol (애월읍) | 55 min | ₩25,000 | ₩45,000 |
| Hallasan (한라산) | 60 min | ₩30,000 | ₩54,000 |
| Jungmun resort (중문관광단지) | 80 min | ₩35,000 | ₩63,000 |
| Seongsan (성산읍) | 100 min | ₩45,000 | ₩81,000 |
A taxi may be convenient for a destination in Jeju City. A taxi across the island can cost substantially more than a short trip into Jeju City.
Which one, for how you are travelling
- For several travellers visiting dispersed locations, compare a rental car with taxis, tours and the available bus routes. Confirm driving eligibility before renting.
- For Jungmun or Seogwipo without a car, check whether limousine bus 600 stops near your accommodation.
- For Jeju City, compare a taxi with a city bus serving your destination.
- For Seongsan and an onward ferry to Udo, check express bus 111 and the return bus and ferry departures before setting out.
- Without a car, group destinations along useful bus routes and use taxis where appropriate. Reaching several scattered oreum, Jeju’s volcanic hills, can be difficult by bus in one day.
