The License type in a Korean listing's Registration details tells you which official register the stay belongs to, and the Region of issuance tells you which local office issued it. Keep those two with the license number: together they identify one permit record. Paste all three into SelectBNBs Verify, then compare the returned business name, address, category and status with the stay you plan to book.
What should I copy from the Registration details box?
Copy the whole block: Region of issuance, License type and License number, keeping the Korean text as written. Airbnb asks Korean hosts to submit the accommodation registration document, its category and the issuing local authority, and says a tax business-registration certificate is a different document. Airbnb's registration guide · Airbnb Korea help
The Region of issuance matters because local offices number their own permits. A short number such as 제2024-000016호 can belong to businesses in several districts, so the region is what narrows it to one record. How Verify matches a number
If the listing shows no registration details, ask the host for the accommodation document's category, the registered Korean business name and the road address.
Which Korean license type matches which official register?
Each license type below has its own official dataset from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Verify searches all eight. The counts are permits marked "Operating normally" in those datasets (official data as of 19 October 2026). Current coverage and status counts
| License type on the listing | What it is | Operating permits | Official register |
|---|---|---|---|
| 외국인관광 도시민박업 / 외국인관광도시민박업 | Urban homestay for foreign tourists: a resident hosts foreign guests in their own home | 11,751 | Urban homestay dataset |
| 한옥체험업 | Hanok experience business: lodging or traditional-culture experiences in a hanok | 2,631 | Hanok experience dataset |
| 농어촌민박사업 / 농어촌민박업 | Rural homestay: a resident's home in a rural or fishing-village area | 36,662 | Rural homestay dataset |
| 숙박업(일반) / 일반숙박업 / 숙박업(생활) / 생활숙박업 | General or residential lodging: hotels, motels and serviced residences; residential lodging has cooking facilities | 31,342 | Lodging business dataset |
| 관광숙박업 (관광호텔업, 호스텔업) | Tourist accommodation, including registered tourist hotels and hostels | 3,576 | Tourist accommodation dataset |
| 관광펜션업 | Tourist pension: lodging designed for nature or cultural experiences | 1,346 | Tourist pension dataset |
| 일반야영장업 / 자동차야영장업 | General or auto campground | 4,416 | General · Auto |
The tourism categories are defined in Article 2 of the Tourism Promotion Act Enforcement Decree. The general and residential lodging distinction is in Article 4 of the Public Health Control Act Enforcement Decree. Rural homestays follow the government's rural-homestay explanation.
Does the name on the listing tell me the license type?
No. "Pension", "guesthouse", "villa" and "stay" are marketing names. The government notes that businesses marketed as pensions may be registered as rural homestays, so ask for the category on the accommodation document rather than guessing from the name. Official explanation of pension names
Which license types does the new booking-platform rule cover?
From 12 November 2026, Korean law requires online booking platforms to check the registration certificate of a lodging business (숙박업) before listing it. The other license types in the table are registered under different laws. What the new rule means for your booking
What about numbers that aren't a license number?
A tax business-registration number (사업자등록번호), an e-commerce number or an Airbnb listing ID is not an accommodation permit. Which number on a Korean listing is the permit?
A number starting WEHOME- is the special-permit number printed on the host's WeHome certificate, not a district office registration number, so Verify cannot match it. Ask the host for a district-issued license number or the road address. WeHome's identifier instructions
Questions and answers
Does a matching permit record prove the listing belongs to that business?
No. It shows that a registered business exists. Compare the registered name and address with the listing, and ask the host about any difference. How the comparison works
What if Verify finds no record?
That is not proof the stay is unregistered: details may be incomplete or typed differently. What to check after no match
Before you book
Copy the Region of issuance, License type and License number together, and check them against the official record.
Check a Korean stay with SelectBNBs Verify →
Choosing between a few stays? Alo from our team grew up in Korea and still lives here. On a private 30-minute video call in English he can talk through which neighborhood and which stay fit your trip, and you get a written follow-up. It costs $89. The call is trip advice, not a permit check.
Talk your trip through with us
This guide gives general information for travelers, not a legal opinion on an individual property. The relevant local authority can confirm a specific case. SelectBNBs Verify is an independent service using official public data; it is not a Korean government website.