The used car market in Korea doesn't have the best reputation. There are many news stories of cars with flood damage being put back into the market. Incheon in particular has a strong reputation for this, so I'd personally avoid buying a car from that area unless you are sure. 

There are a number of dealers/agents you can find online on Facebook etc that specifically cater towards helping foreigners find cars. I have not used these personally so cannot comment much, but they seem to have good reviews. I don't want to mention any here as I can't personally recommend them, but if you search the expat Facebook groups you'll see the same couple of names popping up over and over again.

One option is looking on Carrot Market. The cars here are cheaper and you can save on fees you'd have to pay at a dealer. However, as it is a private sale you'll miss out on the help and safeguards you could get with a dealer. 

So what do I recommend? I recommend checking out the websites: KCar and Encar. These websites will have all the information about mileage, previous owners, accidents and repairs and can help you make informed decisions about the cars you want to purchase. KCar in particular seems to be the safest option for buying a used car. You can purchase a warranty with your car that lasts anywhere from 1 month to a whole year (possibly longer). 

I'll be adding guides to how to use these websites in the near future. Please be patient.

This is really going to depend on what car you buy and where you buy it from, so I can't give exact numbers. To help you, I'll let you know how much I paid for my car in 2024.

My car is a 2012 Kia Morning with rather high mileage (kilometrage?). I found my car on Encar, but did the deal in person at the dealership.

The cost of the car was 3,500,000 won. 

I also had to pay extra fees at the dealership. (I will add these later when I check them).

I think overall I paid around 4,000,000 won. 

In Korea, car insurance and drivers insurance are separate things. (To be honest I'm not really sure what the difference is between them. If I find out, I'll add this here).

Car insurance is mandatory but drivers insurance is not. The rest of this post is going to talk about Car Insurance. 

You must have insurance before driving your car home. If you buy from a dealership, they will be able to sort out the insurance for you. However, it's probably a good idea to get some quotes beforehand so you know what to expect.

Apparently insurance price comparison sites are illegal in Korea (?), so you'll have to visit each insurance company's site individually to get a quote. Alternatively, you can find an insurance agent who will get quotes for you. (I've not done this so cannot help here). Some well-known insurance companies are DB, Samsung Fire, Meritz and Carrot. I know for sure that DB has English speakers and a designated English phone line. I've heard Samsung and Meritz too might have this but I'm not sure. Carrot may give the cheapest quote as they have a more unique system - I think you pay depending on how many miles you drive each month (I'm not 100% sure). 

If it's your first year time driving on your Korean licence, expect to pay a lot for insurance. It also varies depending on age, etc. While I was looking at cars, I got quotes from around 1.2 million to 1.8 million for the year. If you have proof of past car insurance in your own name from your home country, you might be able to submit these and get a refund of some of this money. They can accept up to 3 years of experience from your home country (and I think these need to be consecutive years, but not 100% sure on that). I was able to get nearly 50% of my money back immediately after submitting these certificates.

NOTE: You will have to pay the entire years worth of insurance in one go. (This might be different to your country). (I have heard that if you have a Korean credit card you may be able to split this monthly but I don't know much about that personally so you'll have to do your own research).

You'll also have to pay car tax.  Honestly, I don't know too much about this. You'll get a bill in the post telling you how much you owe and when. For one month I was charged something like 6000 원, so hopefully it won't break the bank. If I find out more, I'll add the information here.

Cars need to be tested for road-worthiness periodically - 자동차검사.  (This is similar to the MOT in the UK). If your car is over 10 years old, it needs to be tested once a year. (I think before that, it's every two years). You'll get a letter in the post telling you when this is due. You have a period of 60 days in which you need to get this done (30 before the date and 30 after). There are 3 test centres in Busan, one in Haeundae, one in Jurye and one in Sasang. You can reserve your test on the KOTSA website. (My car will be getting it's test soon so I'll add more information after that). 

Once you have your car, I recommend downloading T-Map. This is a navigation app, but you can register your car and it'll judge your driving. If you get a good score, you'll be able to use this to get discounts on future car insurance. However, the app is all in Korean which might be difficult if you want to use it for directions.