History and scholarship
Autonomous flight traces back to Norbert Wiener's Cybernetics (1948). ICAO's Circular 328 (2011) set an early UAS framework; Floreano and Wood (2015, Nature) reviewed small autonomous drones; Clarke (2014) analysed privacy and legal issues; and Chamayou (2013) offered a philosophy of the drone.
Getting it
Generally, candidates log flight experience per class and pass a written test (law, weather, flight theory) and a practical, while lower classes may need only online training. Check current rules. Requirements, subjects, credit and practicum rules, pass criteria and dates can change; always check the administering body's notice and current law.
Work and careers
Crop spraying, aerial filming, surveying, inspection and instructing. Links to tree doctors and crop loss assessors.
FAQ
- Needed for hobby flying?
- Depends on weight and use; check the Act.
- Which class helps jobs?
- Industrial work often needs higher classes.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- 국가법령정보센터. https://www.law.go.kr
- 한국교통안전공단 드론자격. https://drone.kotsa.or.kr
- Wiener, N. (1948). Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. MIT Press.
- International Civil Aviation Organization. (2011). Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (Cir 328). ICAO.
- Floreano, D., & Wood, R. J. (2015). Science, technology and the future of small autonomous drones. Nature, 521, 460–466.
- Clarke, R. (2014). Understanding the drone epidemic. Computer Law & Security Review, 30(3), 230–246.
- Chamayou, G. (2013). Théorie du drone. La Fabrique.
- Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374.
- Collins, R. (1979). The Credential Society: An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification. Academic Press.
- Abbott, A. (1988). The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor. University of Chicago Press.