Korean Address Format for Foreigners: What to Show a Taxi, Hotel or Delivery App

Written and reviewed by Korea Expat Guide Editorial Team · Editorial policy

If a Korean address confuses you, save the road-name address, building name, floor or room, postal code, map pin, and Korean text before you move.

Korean addresses are not only for mail. Foreigners often need them for taxis, hotels, guesthouses, delivery apps, food delivery, hospital visits, immigration documents, bank records, luggage delivery, and meeting points. The problem is that an English place name is often not enough. A driver, clerk, app, courier, or station staff may need the Korean road-name address, building number, room number, or exact entrance.

This guide explains Korean address format for foreigners in practical situations. For the full arrival and transport cluster, start from the Arrival, Transportation and Daily Life Problems in Korea hub.

Quick Answer: What Address Information Should You Save?

Before you take a taxi, check in to a hotel, meet a host, receive delivery, or ask for help, save these items:

Korean road-name address
English address, if available
building name in Korean
floor, room, unit, tower, or dong/ho details
postal code, especially for mail or delivery
map pin screenshot
nearest station, exit, gate, or landmark
destination phone number
entrance note, pickup note, or delivery memo in Korean if needed

If your immediate problem is taking a taxi, use Taking a Taxi in Korea Without Korean. If you are lost around a major station, use Lost at Seoul Station in Korea first.

Road-Name Address vs Old Land-Lot Address

Korea uses road-name addresses for current address writing. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Road Name Address guide explains that roads and streets are assigned names, and buildings are assigned building numbers based on road names. The old address style was more land-lot focused, while the road-name style is more building and direction focused.

Address type	What it is based on	Foreigner risk
Road-name address	Road name, building number, district, city or province, and detailed address	Usually better for taxis, maps, hotels, deliveries, and official forms.
Old land-lot address	Dong, ri, or bunji land number	May appear in old messages, screenshots, listings, or local explanations.
Place name only	Hotel, cafe, apartment, school, clinic, or business name	Can be ambiguous if there are branches, similar names, or multiple entrances.

If someone sends only a place name, ask for the road-name address and a map pin. If they send only a screenshot, ask for the text version too, because screenshots are hard to paste into apps or forms.

New students should save this address before leaving the airport and reuse it for check-in, school records, and residence documents. The full arrival sequence is in First Day in Korea as an International Student.

Basic Korean Address Order

In Korean, addresses often move from larger area to smaller area. In English romanized address notation, the Road Name Address guide shows the order from detailed address toward larger district. That means the order can look different depending on whether the address is written in Korean or English.

Purpose	Usually better format	Example shape
Showing a taxi driver	Korean address + map pin	서울특별시 중구 세종대로 110
International mail or overseas sender	Romanized English address + postal code + Rep. of Korea	110, Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, 04524, Rep. of Korea
Delivery app or local courier	Korean road-name address + detailed unit + phone number	서울특별시 중구 세종대로 110, 5층
Hotel pickup or meeting point	Place name + Korean address + entrance note	호텔 정문 / 지하 1층 입구 / 1번 출구

The Parts of a Korean Road-Name Address

A practical road-name address usually contains these parts:

Part	Example	Why it matters
City or province	서울특별시 / Busan / Gyeonggi-do	Separates the wider region.
District or city/county	중구 / Gangnam-gu / Yangju-si	Helps narrow the address.
Road name	세종대로 / Sejong-daero	The main street or road-name address line.
Building number	110	The numbered building on that road.
Detailed address	5층, 101동 102호, B1	Floor, unit, building tower, basement, or room.
Postal code	04524	Important for mail, online checkout, and shipping.
Place name	hotel, apartment, clinic, school, office	Useful for people, but not enough alone.

What Daero, Ro and Gil Mean

The official Road Name Address guide explains that Korean road names use terms such as daero, ro, and gil. For practical reading, think of them like road-size clues:

Term	Meaning for foreigners	Example
-daero	Large road or boulevard	Sejong-daero
-ro	Road or street	Gwangnaru-ro
-gil	Smaller street or side street	Gwangnaru-ro 507-gil
-beon-gil	Numbered side street form	Simin-ro 5beon-gil

Do not remove these endings when showing an address. A map, driver, courier, or staff member may need the full road name, not only the English-looking middle word.

Building Numbers Are Not Random

Korea's road-name system assigns building numbers along roads. The Road Name Address guide explains that building numbers follow systematic rules, including left and right side numbering. You do not need to memorize the rules, but you should understand one practical point: the building number is part of the address, not an apartment number.

For example, in an address like `110, Sejong-daero`, `110` is the building number on Sejong-daero. It is not the room number. A room, floor, or unit must be added separately if needed.

Apartment Dong and Ho

For apartments and officetels, foreigners often confuse building number with dong and ho.

Korean	English idea	Example
동	Apartment building or tower	101동 = Building/Tower 101
호	Unit or room	102호 = Unit/Room 102
층	Floor	3층 = 3rd floor
지하	Basement	지하 1층 or B1

If you are sending luggage, receiving a parcel, or asking for delivery, include dong and ho when they exist. If you only provide the road-name address for a large apartment complex, the courier or driver may reach the complex but not your exact building.

English Address Format for Korea

For English or romanized addresses, use a clear order and do not over-translate. The Road Name Address guide shows English notation examples where detailed address comes first, then road-name address, district, and city or province. Korea Post also shows a Korean address in English with the building number and road name first, followed by district, city, postal code, and Rep. of Korea.

Korean use	English/romanized shape	Use for
서울특별시 중구 세종대로 110	110, Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul	English map, international sender, hotel message
서울특별시 광진구 광나루로507길 78, 101동 102호	101-dong 102-ho, 78, Gwangnaru-ro 507-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul	Apartment or officetel
부산광역시 연제구 법원북로 33	33, Beobwonbuk-ro, Yeonje-gu, Busan, postal code, Rep. of Korea	Mail or shipping

For overseas mail to Korea, include the country name clearly. Korea Post specifically points readers to include Rep. of Korea for accurate delivery of overseas-dispatched postal items destined to Korea.

What to Show a Taxi Driver

For taxis, the best address package is not only one line. Show a driver:

Korean road-name address
Korean building or hotel name
map pin screenshot
nearest subway exit or landmark
destination phone number
entrance or pickup note, if the building has several entrances

Useful Korean phrases:

Need	Korean to show	Meaning
Destination	이 주소로 가 주세요.	Please go to this address.
Map pin	지도에 표시된 위치로 가 주세요.	Please go to the location shown on the map.
Main entrance	건물 정문에서 내려 주세요.	Please drop me at the main entrance.
Taxi stand	택시 승강장으로 가 주세요.	Please go to the taxi stand.
Call for help	통역을 위해 1330에 전화해 주실 수 있나요?	Can you call 1330 for interpretation?

Seoul's taxi guide tells riders to prepare the Korean destination address or landmark. That is why the address should be ready before the taxi stops, not after you are already inside.

What to Send a Hotel, Guesthouse or Airbnb Host

If you are arriving at a hotel, guesthouse, serviced apartment, or private stay, ask the host for a taxi-ready address. A good message is:

English message: Please send me the Korean address, building name, nearest subway exit, and taxi drop-off point. I need to show it to a taxi driver.

Korean message: 택시 기사님께 보여드릴 수 있는 한국어 주소, 건물명, 가까운 지하철 출구, 하차 위치를 보내 주세요.

If the host sends only a pin, ask for the Korean text address too. If the host sends only English, ask for Korean. If the property is inside an apartment complex, ask for the exact dong, entrance, and unit or meeting point.

What to Enter in Delivery Apps

Delivery apps can be more demanding than taxi rides because a courier may need entrance instructions, phone contact, app verification, payment, and a delivery memo. Before relying on delivery, check whether you can complete phone verification and payment.

For delivery or parcel situations, prepare:

Korean road-name address
postal code if the form asks for it
dong/ho, room number, floor, or building tower
entrance password or front-desk instruction only if safe and appropriate
Korean phone number if the service requires it
payment method that works in the app

If the delivery app needs a local phone number, read Korean Phone Number for Foreigners. If the app sends verification codes that never arrive, read Not Receiving SMS in Korea. If payment fails, use Foreign Card Not Working in Korea and the Banking, Cards and Payment Problems in Korea hub.

Map Pin vs Text Address

A map pin and a text address solve different problems. Keep both.

Item	Good for	Weakness
Map pin	Showing location visually, taxi routes, walking directions	Hard to paste into forms and may show the wrong entrance.
Korean text address	Taxi driver, delivery app, courier, hotel, official records	May not show entrance, pickup side, or floor unless you add details.
English address	International sender, travel documents, English support message	May be less useful for local drivers or couriers.

If you are meeting someone, send text and screenshot together. If you are taking a taxi, show the Korean text and map pin together. If you are filling a delivery form, use the text address and detailed unit fields.

Postal Codes in Korea

Korean postal codes are useful for mail, parcels, online forms, international shipping, and sometimes address search. Do not ignore the postal code just because a taxi driver does not need it. It can help the sender, courier, or form identify the correct region.

For international mail, Korea Post's English guide shows address examples with postal code and Rep. of Korea. For local delivery apps, the app may search by road-name address and fill the postal code automatically, but you should still save it if the sender is outside Korea.

Common Address Mistakes Foreigners Make

Using only the English hotel name.
Sending only a screenshot when the other person needs text.
Copying only the street name and leaving out the building number.
Confusing building number with apartment unit number.
Forgetting dong/ho in an apartment complex.
Leaving out the floor for clinics, offices, guesthouses, or pickup counters.
Using an old land-lot address when the app expects a road-name address.
Assuming the map pin is the same as the entrance.
Not checking whether the destination has multiple branches.
Relying on delivery before confirming phone verification and payment.

Airport, Station and Luggage Situations

Addresses become extra important when you have a time limit, heavy luggage, or a transport connection. A station name alone may not be enough. Seoul Station, for example, can mean the KTX area, subway area, AREX area, taxi stand, bus stop, or street exit.

For station or luggage situations, save:

station name
line or train operator
exit number
taxi stand or pickup area
locker, luggage desk, hotel lobby, or counter name
address of the next destination

If you are lost at a station, do not keep walking with luggage while trying to decode the address. Use the Lost at Seoul Station guide and ask from a clear landmark.

When the Address Is for an Official Form

For immigration, bank, school, employer, insurance, hospital, or delivery documents, do not guess. Use the address exactly as the office, contract, certificate, or official record requires. A hotel nickname, map pin, or romanized guess may not be enough.

For official forms, prepare:

Korean address from the contract or official document
English address only if the form asks for English
postal code
room or unit number
landlord, school, employer, hotel, or office contact if relevant
proof of residence if immigration or banking needs it

If the issue connects to phone verification, use the Phone, SIM and Verification Problems in Korea hub. If you are using a data-only plan and need maps, calls, or SMS, read Best Korea eSIM for Tourists before you depend on apps.

If a Map App Shows Two Similar Results

Many places in Korea have similar branch names, similar English names, or several locations inside one district. Before you go, compare:

Korean place name
road-name address
phone number
business branch name
nearby station and exit
building name and floor
street-view or entrance photo if available

If two results are close together, the address line and phone number are more useful than the English name alone. If you are unsure, call the destination, ask your hotel, or use 1330 for tourist interpretation.

When to Use 1330

The Visit Korea 1330 Travel Helpline can help with tourism information and interpretation. It can be useful if you need help explaining an address, finding a destination, asking a taxi or hotel question, or clarifying non-emergency travel confusion.

Use 1330 for:

tourism interpretation
address explanation for a taxi or hotel
travel destination questions
non-emergency complaints or inconvenience
help deciding which official service to contact

Do not use 1330 instead of emergency services if there is danger, injury, fire, crime, or a missing person. If an emergency alert affects your route, read Korea Emergency Alert Texts for Foreigners and follow official safety instructions.

Address Checklist for Foreigners

Use this checklist before you leave your room, call a taxi, order delivery, or send a location to someone:

I have the Korean road-name address.
I have the English address if needed.
I know the building name, floor, room, dong, ho, or entrance.
I saved the postal code for mail or online forms.
I saved a map pin and screenshot.
I know the nearest station exit, gate, taxi stand, or landmark.
I have the destination phone number if available.
I checked whether the app needs a Korean phone number.
I checked whether payment will work if this is delivery or taxi app use.
I can show the Korean address even if I cannot pronounce it.

Related Guides

If the address problem connects to a taxi, station, phone, payment, or emergency issue, use these related guides next:

Official Sources

Use official and current sources when address rules, taxi pickup, delivery, or tourist help matters. Check the Road Name Address guide, Road Name Address English search page, Korean Road Name Address introduction, Korea Post English address guide, Visit Korea 1330 Travel Helpline, Seoul taxi guide, Visit Korea ride-hailing apps guide, Visit Korea taxi guide, k.ride official site, and Seoul TABA announcement.

FAQ

What is the correct Korean address format?

For practical use, save the Korean road-name address, building number, detailed address such as floor or unit, postal code, and map pin. For English notation, use a clear romanized format and include Rep. of Korea for international mail.

Should I show a taxi driver the English or Korean address?

Show the Korean address first, plus a map pin and building name. English hotel or Airbnb names can be misunderstood, especially if there are branches or similar names.

What does dong or ho mean in a Korean address?

Dong usually means building or tower in an apartment complex, and ho means unit or room. If the address is inside a large complex, dong and ho can be essential.

Do I need a postal code in Korea?

For taxis, usually no. For mail, parcels, online forms, and some delivery situations, yes. Save the postal code together with the address.

Can I use only a map pin for delivery?

No. A map pin helps with location, but delivery often needs a text address, unit details, phone number, payment method, and delivery memo.

Who can help if I cannot explain an address in Korean?

For non-emergency travel interpretation, Visit Korea's 1330 Travel Helpline can help. For danger, injury, crime, fire, or urgent safety issues, use emergency services instead.