Jeju, South Korea - Rent-a-car :: KT Kumho

Being that most of the attractions on Jeju Island are located distance away from each other and the public transportation is not that frequent, my cousin and I decided to rent a car instead. Well, it's actually a mix of transportation for our whole 3days trip in Jeju.

We rented a car for the second portion of the trip. After blog hopping, I found that we had 2 options: online pre-booking or walk in at the rental counter at the airport. Some said u can land in cheaper rate when u walk in but I decided that we don't want to take a risk so we opt for online pre-booking instead.

When u arrive at Jeju Airport (both Domestic & International) , u can proceed to the car rental counter in front of the arrival area and ask them. They will direct u to the correct place to wait for the shuttle bus to go to the rental office. There are plenty of signage as well and u wont missed the shuttle bus as they're branded with KTKumho logo.

The office is located about 10mins away from the airport. Once u reached the office, walk into the office and pick a number. Provide them with a hard copy of your reservation and they'll process it. After that, the staff will give u the egg unit and GPS; and bring u to the person in charge outside so that u can check the car. It's kind of the normal procedure when u rent a car. When it's all done, off u go.

Online booking is easy, use Internet Explorer (compulsory coz Koreans webpage is most compatible with IE) to go to their website (https://www.ktkumhorent.com/eng/main.do) and click Register on top right of the page. This is important as registering for membership (for free) will entitle u massive discounts. After you have registered, click on the Reservation tab on the left.

Then click on "Jeju Rental Reservation" if ure renting on Jeju Island. For other location, just use the default "Standard Reservation"

Key in the required information based on ur preference.
There are 2 pick up location on Jeju: Jeju (the location where airport shuttle will bring u) or Lotte Hotel. See what I meant earlier by the importance of registering as a member? See the price difference??

There are 2 options for the Damage Waiver: Zero excess is the Full Coverage (u don't need to pay a cent if damage happens) or the second one with a limit. At first, we took the Standard Damage Waiver (KRW11,200 for 2 days) during the online booking. Reason being was that we're cheapos and based on the reservation, it's KRW8,000/day more. But the lady at the counter said we can upgrade on the spot for merely KRW2,000/day. So why not, right? It's way cheaper during the online reservation.

Don't forget to choose the English Navigation (GPS). I'm not sure why now there are no option for non-smoking car and the egg unit. Either the preference has already embedded in my profile or they're really not there anymore. U can try urself.

Below was what I booked for my trip. Final cost was KRW65,000 for 2 days (with the Waiver upgrade).

And here is the actual photo of the car. Since it's only 2 of us, we choose a Compact car- Kia Morning. Just nice for us and our luggage hehehe. We pretty much use the back seat for our bagpack luggage since the boot is kind of small.

There is a meter for the gas and mileage on the dashboard. Full tank for the car is 32L. When we get the car, it's at 30L with available mileage of 1034.8km. Our 2-day trip took us 385.3km around Jeju Island with 20L of gas (KRW39,000 at that time) for exactly 48hours.

Things to take note:

• If u can choose, opt for non smoking car (more discount), English GPS and egg unit (this is a portable wifi at no additional charges). 
• Egg unit can be used only when ure in the car (or within short distance) when the car ENGINE is ON.
• No deposit required upon online booking.
• U can pay using your Mastercard or Visa (credit card AND debit car. I paid mine using my Malaysia debitcard).
• Driving is on the right-side of the road (American-way).

Self driving is definitely recommended! Don't worry about being lost, the GPS did a very good job and being lost is not scary. Ure on an island! :)

Update: 
Yes, u WOULD NEED International Driving Permit (IDP) if u wish to DRIVE IN KOREA. How to get it? Easy. Bring you driving license (valid for a minimum for 1 year), a passport-sized photo and RM150 to any JPJ. The document will be ready on the spot and valid 1 year from the date of application.

Update (Oct 15th):
I was told by one of my commentor, Jason, that you can choose the non-smoking and egg unit when u click modify booking after u have confirmed your reservation. Yhe non-smoking Clean Campaign entitled u for a KRW3,000 discount.