Smoking, vaping and alcohol in Korea: age 19 by birth year, and a KRW 100,000 fine

The legal age

Selling alcohol or tobacco to anyone under 19 is banned. Korea counts this by birth year: from 1 January of the year you turn 19, you count as an adult for this purpose. Sellers must check age and identity, so carry your passport.

Source: Juvenile Protection Act (Korean)

Where you cannot smoke

Large parts of public life are non-smoking by law. The National Health Promotion Act makes whole facilities non-smoking, including:

• Waiting rooms and platforms at airports, stations and bus terminals, underground walkways and larger vehicles
• Hotels and other tourist accommodation
• Restaurants, cafés and bakeries above a set floor area
• Hospitals, schools and public bathhouses
• Further places designated by local governments by ordinance — often parks, bus stops and streets

Smoking in a non-smoking area brings a fine of KRW 100,000 (in zones set by local ordinance, up to that amount).

E-cigarettes count

Since 24 April 2026, Korean law defines tobacco to include products made from nicotine, natural or synthetic. The Ministry of Health and Welfare confirms that synthetic-nicotine e-cigarettes fall under the same non-smoking rules as cigarettes.

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare — synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes, 23 June 2026 (Korean)

Source: National Health Promotion Act (Korean)

Drinking in public

There is no nationwide ban on drinking in public. Local governments can declare no-drinking zones by ordinance, with fines of up to KRW 100,000, so look out for signs in parks and similar places.

Drink-driving

The limit is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% — lower than in many countries — and it applies to bicycles as well as cars.

Source: Road Traffic Act (Korean)