Dealing with the culture shock around map apps might exist as one of the MOST frustrating parts of moving to Korea. We compiled a breakdown of the most common culture shock points communicated in our communities. Hopefully, the following information helps you 1) know what to expect when you arrive in Korea and 2) feel less alone with the struggle. We throw a few pro tips in as well. Naver Map Cultures Shock in Korea The culture shock around Naver maps primarily stems from the stress of learning something new and the language barrier instead of problems with functionality. Often, when you move to South Korea you start to feel the social pressure to use Naver Maps. That pressure often feels very stressful and unfounded. I mean, you’ve lived off Google Maps for years just fine. Why learn a whole new user interface, iconography, and verification system? We will not lie. We understand why adapting to the Naver Maps system may feel hard. You will likely begin using Naver Maps via the English language interface which has many issues. However, eventually, you will find your way through the interface and language issues into a happy place filled with useful information. Let’s jump into the culture shock points regarding Naver Maps to hurry that adaptation process along. Naver Maps User Interface International residents from Western countries may struggle with the new UX/UI (User Experience and User Interface) design. Eastern and Western tech companies often use different types of UX/UI design systems due to differences in culture. Such UX/UI systems contain hidden culture and assumed knowledge. This can make adapting to the new systems very stressful. Moving from Google Maps in Naver Maps can feel overwhelming. Language Barriers While Naver Maps offers English-language options, many details (like user reviews, menus, and local business names) are only available in Korean. This can be challenging for those not fluent in Korean. Some people say they can’t tell if they have the English version of the app since so much Korean still exists. Complex Route Options Naver Maps often provides multiple route options with details on real-time traffic, alternative routes, and specific arrival times. Additionally, they will provide such routes in the middle of your trip based on current conditions. While helpful, the amount of detail can feel overwhelming, especially if users feel accustomed to simpler interfaces. Integration with Local Services Naver Maps integrates with local Korean services. This includes such services as food delivery, reservation platforms, and wait lists for restaurant tables that have no English language interface. Additionally, such services may require you to have legal residency in South Korea. This means you need a Korean Foreign Residence Card, smartphone, and bank account. This level of integration may feel unfamiliar to many international users and might feel intrusive or cumbersome. Additionally, if you aren’t a Legal Resident of South Korea you may not be allowed to access some features. This can feel alientating and frustrating. Difficulty with English Address Formats For a number of reasons, Romanized Korean addresses often do not work in Naver. Frequent Updates to Maps and Locations Naver Maps changes often. In fast-developing areas of the country, new establishments can appear or disappear overnight. This level of change might surprise users who are accustomed to more static map data. Mapping Data Unstable in New Cities Sometimes South Korea builds completely new cities. During the construction time, Naver Maps often can’t route correctly in the area. Sometimes this can go on for years. If you live in a new city or neighborhood, this can feel very frustrating. Public Transit Detail Overload Naver Maps provides extensive transit details. Honestly, it’s like having a personal assistant walk with you through each step. Naver Maps provides estimated costs, exact arrival times, platform numbers, alarms to get off the bus, and transfer points. If you aren’t used to taking the bus this might feel overwhelming. However, you will quickly fall in love with all these features when you use them in your daily life. Unique Search and Filter Options The search options on Naver Maps include filters (e.g., pet-friendly, wheelchair accessible, parking available) that might be unfamiliar to new users but highly specific. Search Defaults to Seoul If you don’t specify your area, Naver Maps only searches Seoul. This exists as our point of continued frustration and culture shock. This often misleads international residents into thinking what they need only exists in Seoul. Searching in Hangul Still Most Effective Even though Naver Maps offers an app with an English language interface, you still need to search in Hangul to get good results. Google Maps Culture Shock With all those struggles learning a new system like Naver Maps, why would you give up Google Maps (This includes WAZE which is a Google subsidiary)? Why not stick with what you know? Well, that’s because the culture shock surrounding Google Maps generally comes from a lack of functionality and outdated and inaccurate information. Let’s get into that next. Limitations for Google Navigation Google Maps can’t provide as accurate driving directions in Korea as it does in other countries. You might be able to find many things in Google Maps, but you will still need to switch to Naver Maps for accurate and specific driving, transit, or walking directions. Transit Information Isn’t Always Reliable While Google Maps does show some transit options, they may not be updated with real-time schedules. For the most reliable and up-to-date information, switch to local apps like Naver Maps or KakaoMap for public transit. This can feel especially stressful because it FEELS like you have access to Korean transit information but then then you can’t fully trust it. This is a Google problem and not a Korean transit problem. Limited Street View Coverage Google Maps has limited street view access in Korea compared to Naver Maps. For a more comprehensive view of the streets and surroundings, use Naver Maps’ street view. If you use Google Street View you are looking at data from many years past. You can’t trust it. Less Detailed Business Listings Google Maps tends to have less detailed information on Korean businesses compared to Naver Maps. That’s because businesses need to maintain their business listing to keep information currently Unless a business focuses on serving foreigners, they aren’t managing their Google listings. Instead, they only focus on their Naver Maps business listing. For details on business hours, menu options, and other specifics, try cross-referencing both apps or use Naver Maps as your primary resource. Difficulty with Korean and English Address Formats Google Maps might not recognize often can’t recognize Korean addresses in English or Korean. In most cases, Naver Maps is often better suited for handling the local address structure. Additionally, in Naver Maps, most business phone numbers also pull up the business and you don’t even need the address. Lack of Integration with Korean Services Google Maps doesn’t integrate directly with local reservations or delivery services. For restaurant reservations or food delivery options, use specific Korean apps like Coupang Eats, Yogiyo, or Baemin. Read More Blogs About Naver Maps Want to know more about using Naver Maps in South Korea? We also recommend reading the following blog posts. South of SeoulFounded in 2015, the South of Seoul team consists of volunteers on three continents working together to support English-speaking people traveling or living in South Korea. South of Seoul volunteers work with organizations and individuals across South Korea to improve equitable access to information across South Korea. Much of South of Seoul’s information focuses on Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Blogs published under the authorship of “South of Seoul” include blogs compiled by multiple volunteers to improve access to standardized information unrelated to individualized personal experiences. www.southofseoul.net

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Trying to use the Naver Maps app with the English interface? Struggling to find information? Noticing a weird lack of parking or Korean restaurants? English speakers in Korea encounter several common issues when using Naver Maps. In this post, we will talk about Naver Maps and how it handles English UX/UI and the data you search. We LOVE Naver Maps in Korean but we want to be honest about the issues for English language users. About Naver Maps Naver Maps is Korea’s most popular navigation app. Created by Naver Corp., the country’s largest web portal created specifically for South Korea. Naver Maps helps you find places to go, get directions, and explore locations in South Korea. The Korea-specific navigation site & app show options for routes to places by car, bus, subway, motorbike, ferry, cycle, or by foot. Though Naver Maps may seem tricky at first, it works a lot like Google Maps and is very useful once you get used to it. However, if you don’t speak Korean, getting used to Naver Maps first requires understanding the issues in the English version and how to overcome them. The Following Article is Information and NOT Judgement It’s wonderful that Naver Corp. works to provide any type of English language support. The problems that exist for the English language interface make sense and eventually, as technology improves, such issues will fade away. However, right now they exist and we need to understand them. Also, Naver is NOT just trying to make things work for English speakers, the system also needs to work for Chinese and Japanese speakers. It’s a VERY complex issue so we can’t expect the system to be flawless. Information Regarding English Naver Maps Changes Quickly Please understand, that this article attempts to explain the complexity and technological issues behind building cross-language/cultural apps. Everything about the following information may feel difficult to grasp and tedious to understand. Information on this topic changes constantly as technology changes so this only represents where we are at with English Naver Maps in the fall of 2024. However, we hope it helps you create a framework for problem-solving. Of course, if English Naver has issues, why not use Google? Let’s talk about that. Naver Maps Instead of Google Maps The reason you need to use Naver Maps instead of Google Maps is that Google Maps doesn’t work properly in Korea. This problem relates to the Korean Spatial Information Management Act. Under such legislation, companies can’t export domestic geographical information. Since Google refuses to respect such regulations Korea does not share their data with them and Google can’t offer navigation information. Additionally, Korean businesses and society don’t function off of Google for many reasons. This means that information on Google is limited and often inaccurate because local people don’t maintain the information on Google well. In the end, Naver just works better and there is no reason to use Google other than an unwillingness to adapt. Naver Maps is Available as a Website & App Naver Corp. offers Naver Maps as a website or as an app. Since you will need the information for navigating, we recommend downloading the app and paying close attention to this article. Most folks use the app and that’s what we will be referring to throughout this blog post. The app is somewhat “new” and still needs work. Launch of Naver Maps in English Due to the Olympics in 2018, Naver Corp. released the English language Naver Maps interface to the public. Their target audience remains tourists. Some online information reports that Naver Corps had aspects of Naver Maps in English as early as 2010, but that’s not what the lived experience reflected during that time. We didn’t experience an English interface for Naver Maps until the Olympics. When the English Language version of Naver Maps was released, it was terrible to use. Therefore, those of us already living in Korea and using Naver Maps at the time didn’t adapt to the English version. In fact, many people who live in Korea semi-permanently don’t use the English language interface because it feels inconvenient. English Naver Maps Still Lags Behind As of 2024, six years later, Naver Maps still functions like a Frankenstein’s monster with different aspects of Korean and English UX/UI cobbled together. What do we mean by this statement? For example, the amount of Korean used in “English” Naver Maps feels so substantial many people think they are still using Naver Maps in Korean. Let’s dig deeper into how Naver Corp. created English Naver Maps and why it remains a mix of two languages. We will break this down into two parts: 1) the hard-coded English interface and 2) bi-language data management. A Hard-coded English User Interface The English version of Naver Maps has a hard-coded interface. To hard-code something means that it doesn’t change. So, in theory, the English user interface is hard-coded to remain in English all the time. The following images show what should be hard-coded into the English Naver Maps. Here are examples of what SHOULD be consistent in English. Some Things You THINK Are Hard Coded Are Not When we have to jump between the “English” and “Korean” versions of Naver Maps some English or Korean becomes unstable. For example, our Korean Naver Maps interface sometimes starts randomly populating things in English instead of Korean if we switch between the two. This usually happens in the horizontal sliding lists and not the menus. Therefore, we suggest not jumping between the Korean and English versions often. English Interface Choices Based on Tourist-Focused Assumptions Naver Maps seems to focus its English translations on what it thinks foreign tourists will need, rather than what long-term residents might find useful. This means many important features for residents are either missing or poorly translated. For example: However, features mainly used by locals, such as detailed parking options or resident-focused tools, are often not translated. As a result, while navigating Naver Maps, you might suddenly find yourself in the Korean interface when trying to access certain features. This switch can be confusing and stressful, especially if you’re not familiar with Korean. Let’s talk more about why such mixed language systems exist. Naver Maps Bi-language Data Management. When discussing the issues with the Korean database in Naver Maps being searchable in English, we all need to understand the technical issues involved. Understanding the invisible fight helps us adjust and find solutions in real life. Database Structure and Language Encoding The primary issue lies in how data is stored in Naver’s database. Naver Maps primarily uses Hangul (Korean script) for place names, addresses, and business listings. These entries are not inherently designed for English search queries. When a user searches in English, the system has to convert or match English input with Korean entries. This can be problematic because: Search Algorithm Limitations Naver Maps’ search engine was primarily designed for Korean users, so its search algorithms are optimized to process Korean language and culture inputs. When the search engine receives queries in English, several issues can arise: Limited Data Localization While major points of interest (tourist destinations, landmarks, etc.) might have English names associated with them, many local businesses, small restaurants, and lesser-known places do not. This inconsistency makes it hard for English speakers to access the same level of detail available to Korean users. Inadequate Language Translation Support Although Naver uses a translation service (Papago), it is not tightly integrated into the search function to facilitate seamless searches across languages. For a user searching in English, the translation layer might not be precise enough to yield accurate results. Place Name Variability (This is a BIG Issue) Place names in South Korea can vary significantly depending on the Romanization standard used, or even how names are colloquially referred to. Without a consistent matching system between Romanized names and their Hangul counterparts, it’s difficult to ensure search results align with what English-speaking users expect. Notice in the graphic below that these two businesses that focus on international residents have almost unsearchable names in English. Regional Dialects and Variations Korean place names might differ depending on the region (e.g., Jeju vs. Seoul), and the dialectal differences might not translate well into English. Naver Maps may struggle to interpret English queries that map to region-specific terms. The issue essentially boils down to the complexity of language differences, database structure, and insufficient localization for English-language users on a platform primarily designed for Korean speakers. Addressing these technical challenges requires significant investment in translation integration, better search algorithms, and improved data curation. Impact of UX/UI and Data Managment on English User Experience As you can imagine, the issues regarding the English lanaguage UX/UI and data manatment create a complicated English language user experience. Let’s talk about the stress you may feel if you can’t use the Korean version of Naver Maps. This following list is not exhaustive. You many find many other surprises along the way. Additionally, technology changes often and by the time you read this aricle some of these issue may be fixed. Incomplete or Inconsistent English Information Search Function Limitations Navigation and Directions Issues Limited Information for Foreign Culture Difficulties with Offline Maps Korean Culture Focused User Interface Issues with Geolocation and Addresses Lack of Integration with International Apps Challenges with Taxi or Ride-Hailing Services How to Overcome These Issues Now, at South of Seoul we try to always present solutions when talking about issues. We use the following systems for Use Korean for Search Whenever possible, try to search using Korean place names (in Hangul) to get more accurate results. You can use tools like Google Translate or Naver Papago to convert English names into Hangul. Use Translation Tools To search in Korean, utilize Naver Papago or Google Translate to instantly translate sections of the map or directions that are still in Korean. Learn How to Source Korean Keywords Use the Naver keywords for different businesses and hashtags you find in Instagram to expand your searching abilities. Some businesses have entered keywords in Naver and you can find them on the Info page. The image below shows you this. Learn to Read Hangeul Even knowing how to read Hangul can significantly improve your user experience. You can learn to read Hangeul pretty quickly through YouTube videos and other online resources. Using English Language Naver Maps By combining these strategies with careful use of the English interface, you can navigate the challenges of Naver Maps more effectively while living or traveling in South Korea. South of SeoulFounded in 2015, the South of Seoul team consists of volunteers on three continents working together to support English-speaking people traveling or living in South Korea. South of Seoul volunteers work with organizations and individuals across South Korea to improve equitable access to information across South Korea. Much of South of Seoul’s information focuses on Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Blogs published under the authorship of “South of Seoul” include blogs compiled by multiple volunteers to improve access to standardized information unrelated to individualized personal experiences. www.southofseoul.net

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Is navigating Korea stressful? Try using Naver Maps. Let me give you quick tutorial to help you get started. Additional South of Seoul Blogs Related to Map Apps South of Seoul volunteers recommend that you do as much research and reading on using maps in South Korea as possible. Learning to use South Korean map apps may be the most stressful and frustrating aspect of relocating to South Korea. However, if you stay diligent and treat it as a skill to learn – you will overcome the adaptation hurdles and become a mapping superhero. When you finish reading this blog, we recommend checking out these as well. What is Naver maps? Naver Maps is an online Korean mapping system that is both web and app-based. Naver Maps was one of the first Korean-made mapping services to offer an English version. The other options are Kakao Maps (also a Korean mapping service) and Waze (owned by Google), which is a consumer-generated mapping service. Because of its versatility, ease of use, functionality, and longevity, Naver Maps is the most widely used by ex-pats. Through Naver Maps you can get walking, public transportation, and driving directions. You can also search for restaurants and other points of interest like temples, movie theaters, banks, and other attractions. Let’s take a look at some of the basics in more detail. How can I get started with using Naver Maps on my mobile phone? Here are some simple tips that will get you started quick. Download the App Although the desktop version and the app version of Naver Maps have many of the same functionality, only the app version is available in English. We will focus on the app version for this tutorial. Changing the Language The Naver Maps app should default to the language setting of your device. This does not always happen. If your map is mostly in Korean, don’t panic. There is an easy way to change the language settings. Navigating using Naver Maps Some quick notes about transportation options and features: Once you select your route, you can scroll up to see the detailed directions at the bottom. You can also tap on any part of the detailed directions to get a closer view. Tap it again to get more information. Pro Tip: Click on the scoped arrow icon on the bottom left of the map to show your current location. You will see your current location via a blue circle. This can be super helpful to double-check that you are moving in the right direction. Angie Alvis, M. EdAngela Alvis holds a Master’s in Education and Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology. Ms. Alvis specializes in curriculum development and instructional design. Angela Alvis has a depth and breadth of experience in education and early childhood that has taken her across the world to work in a variety of school settings, from rural programs to large urban districts, and everything from ECSE and DLL classrooms to childcare and university settings. Prior to her work with South of Seoul, Ms. Alvis spent several years leading the wide-scale implementation of play-based learning and a formative assessment model with over 120 educators in five early childhood schools that served over 15,000 students in Washington D.C. After transitioning back to the US, Ms. Alvis became the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives at Tools of the Mind, she works on cross-departmental teams as the education and content expert. She is currently co-designing a multi-faceted teacher development model that integrates workshops, video coaching, and professional learning communities.

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