Traffic Lights and Safety Signs

🚦Basic signals: green, yellow, red

In Korea, on a green light you may go straight and you may also turn right. Left turns on green are allowed only where an 'unprotected left turn' sign is posted, and only without obstructing oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

A yellow light means the signal is about to turn red. Stop before the stop line or crosswalk, or before the intersection. If part of your car is already in the intersection, do not stop; clear the intersection promptly. Speeding up to beat the yellow can count as running the signal.

On red, stop before the stop line, crosswalk or intersection. Right turns are allowed only in the way explained below.

💡Flashing signals and arrows

• Flashing yellow: you may proceed while watching other traffic and signs. Slow down and look both ways.
• Flashing red: come to a full stop before the stop line, crosswalk or intersection, then proceed with care. Rolling through is a violation.
• Green arrow: you may go in the direction of the arrow.
• Yellow arrow: vehicles going that way stop before the stop line; if already in the intersection, clear it promptly.
• Red arrow: you may not go in that direction; stop.
• Red X over a lane: you may not use that lane. A green downward arrow means the lane is open.

↪️Right turns since 2023

Since 22 January 2023, the right-turn rule in Korea has been made explicit. When the signal ahead is red, you must make a full stop before the stop line or crosswalk before turning right. After stopping, turn slowly only if you will not obstruct vehicles moving on their own signal or pedestrians.

At intersections with a dedicated right-turn signal, you may turn right only on the green arrow. Turning right while that signal is red is running a red light.

Even when the light ahead is green, if pedestrians are crossing or about to cross the crosswalk you meet after turning, you must stop in front of it (since July 2022). Move off only after they have finished crossing.

🪧Types of safety signs

Korea's Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act divides safety signs into caution, regulatory, instruction and supplementary signs plus road markings. The four sign types follow consistent color and shape rules.

• Caution signs: red-bordered triangles on a yellow background. They warn of curves, slopes, slippery roads, children or cyclists, road works and other hazards ahead.
• Regulatory signs: typically red-bordered circles. They prohibit or restrict, such as no entry, no parking, speed limits or no turns. The stop sign is a red octagon and the yield sign is an inverted triangle.
• Instruction signs: white symbols on blue. They tell you what to do, such as bicycle-only road, roundabout, one-way or direction of travel.
• Supplementary signs: white rectangles placed under other signs to add conditions such as time, distance, section or vehicle type. A no-parking sign with '08:00–20:00' applies only during those hours.

🛣️Road marking basics

• White lines: separate lanes going the same way. Broken lines allow lane changes; solid lines mean do not change lanes.
• Yellow lines: the center line separating opposite directions. Crossing it is a center-line violation. A broken yellow center line lets you briefly use the opposite lane, for example to overtake, but only carefully when no traffic is coming.
• Blue lines: mark reserved lanes such as bus-only lanes.
• Red: used where extra care is needed, such as the road surface in school zones or no-stopping areas around fire hydrants.
• White diamond (◇): a crosswalk is ahead. Get ready to slow down.
• Stop line: when waiting at a signal, keep the front of your car behind this line.

💬FAQ