Two reasons why you should use Naver Map instead of Google Map in Korea

Introduction

Some of you may be planning a trip to Korea by now, or perhaps someone is eagerly awaiting the days they'll spend in Korea due to studying abroad or work. In that case, let me offer a tip for those individuals: Two reasons why you should use Naver Map in Korea, along with one critical drawback.

1. Naver Map has more features than Google map at least in Korea

Naver Map, like Google Maps, offers various features such as navigation, subway maps, bus arrival times, and route information. However, in Korea, some features of Google Maps may not work properly due to factors like lower user numbers and various regulations. Using Naver Map has the advantage that most features are available.

2. Naver Map has more accurate information

In Korea, Naver Map holds a dominant position. Therefore, the information updated on Naver Map is inevitably more up-to-date compared to Google Maps. New stores, new routes, new buildings, traffic conditions, etc., are updated more quickly and with higher accuracy than Google Maps. If you want to use navigation, it's better to use Naver Map rather than Google Maps, especially as Google Maps often shows inaccurate navigation performance in Korea. However, don't blindly trust Naver Map 100%. Errors can occur anywhere.

Drawback: Poor translation in English

As shown in the picture below, not all features and places on Naver Map are translated into English. This can be considered a critical drawback of Naver Map. I want to search for 'Seoul Station,' but it doesn't come up in English in the autocomplete. If you can speak even a little Korean, this drawback might not be a big issue. However, if it's your first time in Korea, remember this drawback.

Conclusion

So far, we've explored the reasons why you should use Naver Map in Korea and one drawback. While there are alternatives to Naver Map, such as Kakao Map and TMap, if you have Naver Map, there's no need to install other apps. Therefore, I strongly recommend Naver Map.