When you look at the license plate of the car in front of you on the road, there's a Korean letter between the numbers. In Jeju Island, "하," "허," and "호" stand out especially often. Cars with these three letters are rental cars. ## A Korean Letter on the License Plate On Korean license plates, there is one Korean letter between the numbers. This letter tells you what the car is used for. Private cars use common characters like '가, 나, 다', while rental cars only use '하, 허, 호'. So Koreans can glance at a license plate and tell, "Ah, it's a rental car." ## Why Separate Them? A rental car's owner and its driver are different people. Today a traveler drives it, and tomorrow someone else does. That's why the government registers rental cars separately as company vehicles and manages them. It's to keep track of insurance and maintenance records, and to make it easier to determine who is responsible if an accident happens. The letters on the license plate are a mark that makes that distinction visible on the road as well. ## Good to know - If the car in front of you suddenly slows down at a tourist spot, the driver may be looking for directions. It's better to keep your distance and wait patiently than to honk. - If you rent a car yourself, the driver's license requirements are important. Documents like the International Driving Permit can change, so be sure to check with the company you booked with or the Korea Road Traffic Authority. - The color of license plates has changed in the past depending on the system. So the most reliable thing is to look at the Korean character in the middle rather than the color. That one small character carries the information "this car is a rental." It's a kind of promise that makes things a little easier for both the traveler driving on unfamiliar roads and the Korean driver beside them.