Fishing rules and regulations for South Korea

Bassinkorea · April 18, 2012, 09:44:52 PM

1. There are currently no fishing license requirements in Korea. You can go to any public water and fish.

2. There are no limits to the amount of fish/bass you catch or keep. In fact, as bass and bluegill are invassive spiecies in South Korea, it can be frowned upon if you are seen releasing a bass or bluegill back into the water. There are no laws in place surrounding the release of bass and bluegill at the time of writting this post.

3. 99% of all Korean waters are free to fish, but there are some waters have a day ticket price for fishing and it's approximately $5. A person will approach you whilst fishing and ask you for the money. Always ask for ID and a receipt. It is extremely rare that you will be charged anything.

4. Boat fishing in Korea. If you wish to operate a boat whilst in Korea, you will have to follow the very strict rules of obtaining and carrying a boat operator's license as below.
• If you are operating a boat that has a 4hp motor or below then you are not required to have a license. However, for anyone wanting to operate a boat with a motor of 5hp and above in Korea (Koreans and foreigners alike) a license is required.
• There are 3 levels of license;
Number 1
Number 2
Yacht
• The good news is that foreigners in Korea can take and complete the Korean boating license tests. There is a 50 question written test in English or Korean which is a multiple choice type exam. Once you have passed the written test you can take the practical "on-the-water" test. The practical test only takes approximately 10~15 minutes to complete and it's fairly simple if you have had some past boating experience. I took test in 2011 and the examiners spoke rather good English and allowed me to speak only English throughout the exam.
• If anyone needs more information about Korean boat licenses for non-Koreans, then post here and I'll help as best as I can.

5. Trailering a boat in Korea.
• Everyone that wants to tow a boat/trailer on Korean roads must have a trailer license by law. I believe that all US military folks can simply have the trailer part added to their license very simply, but for any non-military folk we must take and pass a 10 hour driving course and a 10 minute driving test to be able to legally drive with a trailer here in Korea.
• If you already have a regular #1 or #2 Korean license then it's simply a case of taking a course and test (no written test is necessary!
• The course consists of ten 1 hour sessions which you must complete before being able to take the test. The course and test are done in an 18 wheeler type vehicle (40 foot trailer) and is a 'T' course (drive forward, reverse into space, drive forward out of the space and then reverse back to the start line).
• The cost of the course and test in total comes to about 750,000 Korean Won. It's expensive but worth it to be legal on the road.
• I took this course in 2011, so I can get you more information if you need it.

For more detailed information regarding fishing in South Korea, please respond here or contact me directly via PM.

BullridinGI · April 21, 2012, 07:48:33 AM

Hi,

I am in the military stationed at Camp Humphreys. I have been looking for someone to show me the ropes to fishing here. I have only been fishing once in the year and a half I have been here(without luck) and I am dying to go out more. Have you got some suggested areas, tips for lure usage, maybe how to go about getting the mentioned boating license so I can rent one or something. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Tony

Bassinkorea · April 21, 2012, 09:41:12 PM

BullridinGI,
I am not from the Humphreys area, but I do know there are lots of good fishing spots in that area. The whole river (Pyungtaek river) located besides Humphreys is loaded with bass.

There will be an amateur bass fishing tournament on that river on Sunday May 6th. It's a bank fishing tournament, but if you are interested I can get you more info.

I also believe you can rent inflatable bass boats on the river with a trolling motor. They can be rented from a tackle store somewhere on the river, but I don't know the exact location.

BullridinGI · April 22, 2012, 12:25:24 AM

BassinKorea,

I appreciate your reply. I would like to get some more info on the tournament if you could let me know. Are there any clubs here? I would like to try and team up with some people and do some co-angling if it is possible. Sorry about sending you the double message, I am new to the site and using my iPad for most of the things. Is the foliage here relatively the same as in the states? I have been to the bait shop on the river, but there is soo much stuff I get kind of lost when looking at it all and when I ask about what the bass are hitting, they only say green pumpkin seed worms LOL! I have always enjoyed fishing with frogs but never really see any around. Once again, thank you for all your help, and if you are ever in the area and want a fishing buddy, let me know! Always looking for a way to put a line in the water!

Bassinkorea · April 22, 2012, 04:44:18 PM

There are clubs here, but mostly small clubs that either fish from the shore, or fish from small inflatable boats.

The name of the shop is Tulbo Fishing. I believe they have inflatable boats for rent. They are also the main sponsor for the amateur tournament on May 6th, with the meeting place at the shop.

The frog seaon will be starting here REALLY soon, but for the most part worms will catch you plenty of fish. A friend of mine used to slay the bass using black and black/blue senkos weightless

I will post info about the open tournament in this board soon.

bassinnyc · July 12, 2012, 07:09:57 AM

bassinkorea, do you think it would be alright for me to fish a huge park, the ulsan grand park? Its so public so i was wondering

BassHunter_Hunt · July 12, 2012, 09:11:00 AM

I know the places where I fish the people make a big deal out of everything. They get in my face and me that I cant fish there, even though there is no rules against it. It makes it worst when they see me throwing them back.

You might have better luck where you are trying to fish. If you see Koreans fishing there then I'll say your good to go.

They also destroyed the water quality at one of the lakes I fish at due to all the over farming around it. The water has a green algae bloom turning the water a neon green.

Bassinkorea · July 12, 2012, 09:14:17 PM

Quote from: bassinnyc on July 12, 2012, 07:09:57 AM
bassinkorea, do you think it would be alright for me to fish a huge park, the ulsan grand park? Its so public so i was wondering

Hi bassinnyc, welcome to UB.com

I am not sure which park it is you are referring to, but the best way to find out if fishing is allowed or not is to look for fishing evidence around the place. Korean anglers are not known for taking trash home with them. You can usually find empty hook packets or used plastics lying around.

Look for signs around the place that say "낚시 금지" which means no fishing.

Bassinkorea · July 13, 2012, 08:29:26 AM

Quote from: BassHunter_Hunt on July 12, 2012, 09:11:00 AM
I know the places where I fish the people make a big deal out of everything. They get in my face and me that I cant fish there, even though there is no rules against it. It makes it worst when they see me throwing them back.

You might have better luck where you are trying to fish. If you see Koreans fishing there then I'll say your good to go.

They also destroyed the water quality at one of the lakes I fish at due to all the over farming around it. The water has a green algae bloom turning the water a neon green.

That is actually quite common over here. The good news is that the fishing can be great still. Fish a topwater lure like a floating frog over the surface and hang on

itchingbassfever · February 25, 2017, 07:50:36 AM

I know this is an older thread. But just by chance is anyone still around the kunsan area?

Bassinkorea · February 26, 2017, 10:41:15 PM

Quote from: itchingbassfever on February 25, 2017, 07:50:36 AM
I know this is an older thread. But just by chance is anyone still around the kunsan area?

Hi itchingforbassfever. Welcome to UB.com

I do not know of any members on this forum in the Kunsan area, but I have fished there a few times.

BuckysAdVentures · November 25, 2020, 12:20:14 AM

New to the Kunsan Area. Looking for some spots close by. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.

Bassinkorea · November 25, 2020, 01:37:14 AM

Welcome to UB and Korea

As I remember, there are two spots in the area for sure. One is a small lake in the middle of the nearby town, called Eunpa Lake. There is decent access all the way around. This will probably be your best bet at first. It has been quite a few years since I was there, so not sure how things are these days.
The other spot is a larger reservoir which is located a bit further out of town.

I have caught bass in both of these waters.