Planning a trip to Korea?
If you normally use Google Maps when traveling, you might assume you can use it in Korea exactly the same way you do at home.
But there's something worth knowing before you arrive.
Google Maps works in Korea, but some navigation features are more limited than travelers may be used to in other countries.
That's why having a Korean map app on your phone can make getting around much easier.
One of the most useful options is Naver Map.
The good news is that you don't need to know Korean to use many of its most important features.
Here's how to set up Naver Map in English and use it to find places, navigate public transportation, check restaurants and explore what's nearby.
1. Why use Naver Map in Korea?
Google Maps isn't completely unusable in Korea.
You can still use it to look up many places and get basic information. However, navigation in Korea has historically worked differently from what many international travelers are used to, particularly for some driving and walking functions.
South Korea has long restricted the overseas transfer of high-precision map data for security reasons.
There has recently been an important change: in February 2026, the Korean government conditionally approved Google's request to export high-precision map data.
However, that doesn't mean every Google Maps navigation feature suddenly works in Korea exactly as it does in other countries.
So for a trip to Korea, it's still a good idea to have a Korean map app installed.
That's where Naver Map comes in.
2. What about KakaoMap?
Naver Map isn't the only local map app in Korea.
KakaoMap is also widely used by Koreans.
So why am I using Naver Map in this guide?
For a first-time visitor, Naver Map provides an English interface and makes it possible to do many of the things travelers need most: search for attractions, find public transportation routes, check restaurant information and look for nearby places.
If you already use KakaoMap and are comfortable with it, there's no reason you have to stop using it.
This guide simply focuses on Naver Map as a practical option for foreign travelers visiting Korea.
3. How to change Naver Map to English
When you first open Naver Map, you may see the app in Korean depending on your device and language settings.
Don't worry. You can change the app language.
Open Naver Map and tap the profile icon in the upper-right corner.
Then go to:
Settings → Language → English → OK
Once you select English, the main interface changes to English.
This makes things like search, transit directions and place information much easier to understand.
One thing to remember: changing Naver Map to English does not mean that every piece of content inside the app will automatically be translated.
We'll see an example of that with restaurant reviews later.
4. Can you search for places in English?
Yes.
For example, I searched for:
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Naver Map was able to find the palace and display its location and place information in English.
For major tourist attractions, this makes Naver Map fairly straightforward even if you don't speak Korean.
Once you open a place, you may be able to check information such as its location, address, opening status, photos and reviews.
However, English search isn't perfect for every local business or small place in Korea.
If you can't find somewhere using an English name, try a different spelling. If you have the Korean name of the place, searching with that can also help.
5. How to get directions with Naver Map
Finding the place is only the first step.
Let's say you're at Seoul Station and want to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Select the destination and tap To.
Enter Seoul Station as your starting point and Naver Map will show available routes.
For public transportation, you can see information such as:
Travel time
Subway or bus lines
Transfers
Estimated fare
Walking sections
Estimated arrival time
For example, in my search from Seoul Station to Gyeongbokgung Palace, Naver Map showed a route taking about 23 minutes and costing ₩1,550 at the time of the search.
It also showed which subway lines were involved in the journey.
That's much more useful than simply knowing where the destination is on a map.
6. Don't stop at the first route screen
Tap one of the suggested routes and Naver Map gives you more detailed instructions.
You can see where you need to walk, which subway line to take, where to transfer and where to get off.
This is particularly useful in Seoul, where a route may involve several subway lines.
Before starting your trip, take a few seconds to look through the entire route.
Knowing your transfer station and final station in advance can make navigating Korea's subway system much less stressful.
7. You can also use Naver Map to find restaurants
Naver Map isn't only useful for transportation.
It's also a useful tool for finding restaurants, cafés and other places during your trip.
For example, I tried searching:
Myeongdong restaurant
As you type, Naver Map may suggest related places or search terms.
After searching, you can view restaurants on the map or look through the results as a list.
This can be especially useful when you're already in a neighborhood such as Myeongdong and don't have a particular restaurant in mind.
One thing I noticed while testing the English version is that search results aren't always exactly what you might expect from the words you enter.
If the first search doesn't give you useful results, try changing the wording slightly or check both the map and list results.
8. Check the restaurant page before you go
Once you find a restaurant, open its page before heading there.
Depending on the restaurant, Naver Map can show information including:
Address
Opening hours
Break time
Phone number
Photos
Menu
Reviews
Pay particular attention to opening hours and break time.
Some restaurants in Korea close between lunch and dinner service, so a restaurant may not actually be serving customers even though you arrive in the middle of the afternoon.
Checking Naver Map before you leave can save you an unnecessary trip.
9. Some restaurants even have menus in English
This was one of the more useful things I found while testing Naver Map in English.
At the restaurant I checked, the Menu tab displayed menu names, prices and photos in English.
For example, the menu showed items such as:
Half chicken kalguksu – ₩13,000
One chicken for two people – ₩30,000
Potato pancake – ₩18,000
Being able to see both the food and the price before entering a restaurant can be especially helpful if you don't read Korean.
However, don't expect this at every restaurant.
Not every restaurant has a complete English menu on Naver Map.
Think of it as a useful feature when it's available rather than something guaranteed everywhere.
Found the place but need help communicating when you get there?
If you need to ask about a menu, ingredients, directions, or anything else in person, try Korea For Real Travel Talk.
You can speak or type in your own language, show the Korean translation to the other person, and understand their Korean reply in your language.
Try Korea For Real Travel Talk
10. Are Naver Map reviews translated into English?
Not completely.
This is something worth knowing before you use the app.
When I checked a restaurant in the English version of Naver Map, the review summary included descriptions such as:
“good food”
“fresh ingredient”
“spacious”
“large portion”
These can give you a quick idea of what Korean customers think about the restaurant.
But when you go deeper into the reviews, content written by Korean users may still appear in Korean.
The same can happen with Naver Blog reviews linked to a restaurant.
So:
Changing Naver Map to English does not translate everything inside the app.
You can still get plenty of useful information in English, but you may occasionally encounter Korean text.
11. Use Nearby when you don't know what to search for
There's another useful feature that's easy to overlook.
When you're looking at a place, tap the Nearby tab.
Naver Map can show different types of places around that location, with categories such as:
Food·Drink
Activities
Attractions
and more specific options such as:
Eateries
Cafe
Local Favorites
This is useful when you don't know the name of the next place you want to visit.
For example, you might finish lunch and simply want to find a café nearby.
Instead of starting a completely new search, check the Nearby section and explore what's around you.
12. A few things to remember before your Korea trip
You don't need to learn every feature in Naver Map before you arrive.
For most travelers, a few basics are enough.
Install Naver Map before your trip and change it to English if necessary.
Use it to search for destinations and check detailed public transportation routes.
Before visiting a restaurant, check its opening hours and break time.
Look at the Menu tab because some restaurants provide menu names, prices and photos in English.
And remember that Korean reviews may remain in Korean even when your app is set to English.
Google Maps can still be useful in Korea, and KakaoMap is another popular Korean option.
But if you're visiting Korea for the first time, having Naver Map ready on your phone can make finding places, using public transportation and checking local information much easier.
Once you've used it a few times, it's actually quite simple.
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