While staying in South Korea, chances are that you’ll need to know your address at some point, whether it’s for an application, ARC, food delivery, or something else.
If you’re not familiar with the Korean language and are not used to living in South Korea yet, it can be a bit difficult to find the exact address of where you’re living, and you might not be sure that you have the right one after you’ve found something.
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The easiest way to find your Korean address for the accommodation you’re staying in is to go onto Kakao Maps, find where your accommodation is on the map, and hold down your finger right onto it. Then, select “Addr.” and it will tell you the exact address of where you’ve selected. In most cases, you want to look at the address listed at the top, which is written in black letters.
Depending on what type of accommodation you live in, you might want to include additional information in the address – learn more below.
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How to find your address in South Korea
Knowing your address in South Korea is essential if you’re staying there for a longer period of time, as you need to write it down when filling out applications and use it for things like opening a Korean bank account.
It can also come in handy knowing your address, even if you’re not staying in the country for more than 90 days, as you can use it for things like online food delivery.
Here is how to find the Korean address in Korean letters of your accommodation or any other location in South Korea:
- Open the Kakao Maps app
- Find the location of your accommodation on the map
- Tap and hold your finger on the location of your accommodation on the map
- Select “Addr.” in the pop-up menu
- You will now see the address of the selected location
You can use the current location button in the bottom-right corner above the “Route” button if you’re currently at your accommodation to quickly get to its location on the map. If you want to have your address in Latin letters instead of Korean letters, you can either type the address in Korean letters into Google or translate it in Papago.
In the address information window, you’ll notice that there are two addresses listed, one in black letters and one below it in smaller grey letters. These two addresses are for the same approximate location, but in each of the two Korean address systems – the new and old. In most cases, you want to use the address from the new system, which is the one listed at the top in larger black letters.
The old address system works with lot (지번) numbers to identify locations, but the new address system works with building/address numbers instead.
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Naver Maps can also be used to find your address, but it does not show the address everywhere you select. So, if you’re using Naver Maps and it does not show any address when you select your accommodation’s location, use Kakao Maps instead.
Another way to find your address in Korea is to see if your host has included it in any message sent to you. Just be sure to check it to see if that really is the exact address. Some hosts give an address that is close to the actual address in their listing information for privacy reasons. If you’re unsure, you can also send them a message and ask for the exact address.
As there are many large buildings in cities like Seoul and Busan in South Korea, you might want to include more information than just the address when filling out applications, etc., as many of them have several businesses inside
If your building has your accommodation only on the third, fourth, and fifth floor, for example, but other businesses on the first and second floor, you should write the name of the accommodation in front of the address. Alternatively, you can write the floor (층: i.e., 6층) of your accommodation if you’re not sure what the name of it is or in case it doesn’t have a public name written anywhere on the building.
For some types of services, like food delivery, you want to include your room/unit number (호: i.e., 507호). Sometimes, it is not necessary to include the floor when including your room/unit number, as the first number tells you the floor number. 507호, for example, is room/unit 07 on the 5th floor.
Some buildings in South Korea have a public name, like the one in the image above, which is also shown on the map apps. If you want to, you can write the name of the building in the address as well. It can sometimes make it easier for delivery people, etc., to know exactly what building you’re in.
That’s how to find your Korean address in South Korea!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
