Naver Map English Guide for Korea: Setup, Kakao Map and Google Maps in 2026

Naver Map English is a setting, not a separate app: switch the language once and the map, menus and navigation follow. The app also gives walking and driving directions in Korea and shows live bus and subway times. Google Maps shows places and public transit routes there but, as of October 2026, still won’t guide you on foot or by car. Kakao Map, the other big local app, has an English screen too. Here’s how to set up Naver Map, how Kakao Map and Google Maps Korea compare function by function, and what to do when a search finds nothing.

Why Google Maps still can’t give directions in Korea

Korea turned down Google’s requests to export detailed map data in 2007 and 2016, citing national security. On 27 February 2026 it said yes, with conditions: sensitive sites must be blurred, coordinate data restricted, and the data processed on servers run by Google’s local partners.

Seven months later, the app has barely changed. Google told the Korea Herald in August 2026 that it plans to bring full-functioning Google Maps to Korea, including turn-by-turn directions, and gave no date. Its coverage table for developers still lists driving directions, walking directions and traffic as unavailable in South Korea. We found no launch announcement as of 3 October 2026.

What Google Maps does show in Korea is place listings, reviews and public transit routes. Walking legs inside a transit route appear as dotted lines, not step-by-step directions. Most people in Korea use other apps: in April 2026 Naver Map had 29.25 million monthly active users, Kakao Map 12.77 million and Google Maps 9.08 million.

Naver Map English: how to switch the app to English

Naver Map is listed in the US App Store and on Google Play as NAVER Maps, Navigation. Naver says it is the only map app in Korea that works in four languages, Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, and the App Store listing adds English navigation. The iPhone version is about 480 MB and needs iOS 16 or later, so download it over Wi-Fi before you leave.

1. Install the app, open it and allow location access.
2. Tap the menu icon with three lines, then the gear icon for Settings.
3. Find Language and choose English.
4. Close the app completely and open it again.
5. Search for a station or landmark to check the screen, then tap the directions button.

Menu labels move around between versions, so if you can’t see Language, look through Settings for it. English covers the map, the menus and the navigation, but not everything. Reviews are written in Korean, and a few menu items stay in Korean after the switch.

Searching in Naver Map: English, Korean and phone numbers

Famous places and stations usually come up when you type them in English, such as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Seoul Station. Small shops, restaurants and English street addresses are less reliable. The Korea Times reported in April 2025 that English addresses often fail because the word order has to be exact, that English names for buildings and transit stops are incomplete, and that some places visible on Google don’t show up in the Korean apps. Naver and Kakao both told the paper they were working on it.

When an English search fails, change what you type. Copy the Korean name from your booking confirmation, the hotel’s own website or a Google listing and paste it into the search box. Phone numbers are another way in, because they sidestep spelling altogether, and Naver Map has searched by phone number and bus number since at least 2009.

Before you land, save your hotel’s name and address in Korean as a screenshot. The map needs it, and so does the taxi driver.

Transit, walking and live times in Naver Map

Naver’s App Store listing promises transit directions with real-time arrival information, and the company’s own description for foreign visitors lists real-time public transit information, subway maps and boarding guidance. Type a destination, tap the directions button, then choose transit, car, walking or cycling.

Subway directions name the exit to take, which saves a lot of wandering above ground. Fares come off your card, not the app: our T-money card guide has the Seoul fares and the 30-minute transfer rule.

Data is the catch. Naver Map has a regional map download in its settings, but a Korean site that tested it in June 2025 reported that maps, search and directions still failed without a connection, and other reports conflict. We couldn’t confirm an offline mode for Kakao Map either. Plan on mobile data. Stations and trains have signal, and our Korea eSIM guide compares the options.

Saving places, sharing and the Naver account

Search and directions work without signing in. Saving places to lists needs a Naver account, and the saved list then follows you across devices. Naver’s listing describes saving and sharing places with friends. The share button makes a link that opens in the app or a browser, so you can send it by KakaoTalk or text message.

The Booking tab inside Naver Map covers restaurants and other reservations. We couldn’t confirm it works with a foreign phone number, and most Korean booking apps want a local 010 number, as our Korea eSIM guide explains.

Kakao Map English: what the app gives you

Kakao Map’s App Store listing shows two languages, English and Korean. The iPhone version is about 480 MB and needs iOS 17 or later, one version newer than Naver Map, so an iPhone stuck on iOS 16 can install Naver Map but not Kakao Map. Route search covers car, public transit, walking and cycling, with live bus times, and you can sort bookmarks into groups and share places through KakaoTalk.

The English applies to the screen, not the content. Reviews, business descriptions and some transit alerts stay in Korean whatever language you choose, according to KoreaBridge’s guide, and the Korea Times found gaps in both companies’ English data. Guides describe a Language option in Kakao Map’s Settings menu, as in Naver Map.

Kakao Metro and Seoul’s subway app

Kakao Metro, from Kakao Mobility, is a subway-only app in English and Korean. Its App Store listing covers the Seoul area, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon, with live arrivals and exit information, including which car doors line up with which exits. Seoul Metro’s own English app, the Seoul Subway Official App, launched in April 2023 with train arrival alerts and crowding levels for each car. Neither replaces a map for the walk at either end.

Kakao T for taxis

Kakao T, the taxi app from Kakao Mobility, runs in English and Korean and accepts foreign cards, though its text-message sign-up doesn’t work with every foreign number. K.ride, the visitor version that launched in June 2024, lets you sign up with an email, Google or Apple account and costs a little more per ride. Our Korea eSIM guide has the sign-up details, and our Seoul to Jeju guide notes that Kakao T works on Jeju too, with longer waits outside the island’s two cities.

Google Maps Korea vs Naver Map vs Kakao Map, feature by feature

This table sticks to what the apps and their publishers say, checked in October 2026.

Fixes for the problems visitors run into

The address is only in Korean

Hotels and restaurants often print addresses in Korean only, and the English version rarely matches what the map expects. Paste the Korean line from your booking confirmation into the search box, or search by phone number. A screenshot of it is a good backup.

You don’t have a Korean phone number

You don’t need one to look up places, get routes or check live bus and subway times. Numbers matter for sign-ups that send a text message, such as Kakao T, and for booking apps. The eSIM guide lists which apps want a 010 number and how K.ride gets around the problem.

The app won’t install

Both apps were listed in the US App Store and on Google Play’s English pages in October 2026, so a Korean Apple ID isn’t needed. If the install fails, check your iOS version and free space. Each app is about 480 MB on iPhone.

The signal drops

Free public Wi-Fi covers airports, stations and many bus stops, which is enough to reload a route between stops. It won’t get you across a city, so keep the eSIM switched on.

Before you fly, check whether you need a K-ETA. Just landing at the airport? Our Incheon Airport to Seoul guide compares the AREX train, the limousine buses and the taxis, and you’ll want the hotel’s Korean address ready for the taxi rank.

Looking for the rest? Every Korea guide we’ve published, from the K-ETA to the eSIM, is sorted by topic in our South Korea travel guide.

Heading south? Our Seoul to Busan guide covers the KTX, the express bus and the flight, and Kakao Metro covers Busan’s subway as well as Seoul’s.

Going on to Gyeongju? Our Seoul to Gyeongju guide covers the KTX and the express bus, and the local bus numbers from Gyeongju Station are worth checking in Naver Map before you set off.

Off on a day trip? Our Seoul to Nami Island guide gives the Gapyeong wharf address to paste into Naver Map, and tells you which local bus to look for from the station.

Data checked: 2026-10-06