• Drinking and Driving
• Policemen inspecting a drivers' driving condition is frequently seen at night on the streets of Chungnam and all over Korea. In the event alcohol is found at levels higher than 0.05%, drivers will be convicted. In Korea, drinking and driving is strictly prohibited, and there is a growing tendency towards harsher penalties for drunken drivers.
  Korean policemen are authorized to request and administer alcohol level tests anytime with the drivers having to accept and cooperate. Drivers who refuse an alcohol level test will face cancellation of their license. Therefore, drivers have to use public transportation instead of driving themselves when they are drunk.

• For more detailed information on other kinds of traffic accidents, see the website of Korean National Police Agency and Korea Investment Support Center

• Voltage
• Most houses in Korea use 220 volts and most home appliances which are sold in Korea are accommodated to 220 volts. Electric home appliances using 110 volts must be plugged through a converter.

• Banking
• There is no restriction placed on foreigners who want to open a local savings account . Some banks service English forms and many banks allow foreigners to open accounts with some non-Korean currencies as well. Regular and foreign currency accounts generally do not require minimum balances or maintenance fees. To set up an account, fill out an application form and choose a password, generally four digits between number 0 and 9, for use at Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) or window tellers. Aliens have to bring their passport or Certificate of Alien Registration to open a bank account, usually based on their signature.
  Local bank account holders can receive an ATM card when they open their bank account. Although a few banks are adding English instructions to their machines, most current ATMs have Korean instructions only. Many banks locate their ATMs in a separate section, where people can get access even after business hours, usually till 10 p.m., but completely inaccessible after 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. in the next morning. Banks usually charge a transaction fee for the use of ATM cards either from different banks or after their business hours, mostly from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Some ATMs marked 'Cirrus' or 'Star' are 24-hour cash advance machines, mainly found in congested public locations, and they accept most foreign-issued credit cards and ATM cards.

• Coins and Notes
  Coin denominations are 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 Won, but 1 Won and 5 Won coins are rarely used. Notes are 1,000 won, 5,000 won and 10,000 won.
  Also Bank Checks of 100,000 won used as notes, but when you use bank check, you must show your I.D. card or passport.

• Phone Directory

Emergency Phone Numbers

• Fire, medical emergencies: Dial 119
• Police: Dial 112
• Broken telephone reports: (Nationwide)110, (With local prefix)+1166
• Gas-related emergencies: (With local prefix) + 0019
• Electricity failure: 123
• Electricity problem reports: 080-7777-123

Telephone / Telegram Information

• Other city information: Local prefix + 114
• Domestic telegrams: 115 www.kt.co.kr
• International telegrams: 00795 www.kt.co.kr
• International information: 00794 www.kt.co.kr
• Korea National Railroad: 1544-7788
• Seoul Express Bus Terminal: 02-535-4151
• Dong Seoul Bus Terminal: 02-446-8000

Transportation

• Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal: 02-521-8550
• Seoul Sangbong Bus Terminal : 02-435-2122
• Korea City Air Terminal: 02-551-0077

Currency Exchange Information

• Korea Exchange Bank: 02-2292-1282