Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

New Law Standardizes Korean Addresses
It will now be possible to find a given destination only by knowing the name of the road and the number of the building in Korea....

For example, "National Assembly, 1 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul" will be changed to "48 Euisadang-ro Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul." The road name (Euisadang-ro) and building number (48) will enable people to find the National Assembly building.

In other countries, a road address system is already in use. Though the order may be different, all center on the name of the road.

In the U.S. and Great Britain, the sequence of the address is building number, road name, city name, state name, and postal code. In France the order is building number, road name, postal code, and city name; while in China, it is city name, district name, road name, and building number.

... The land labeling system was a product of the land investigation project when the Japanese introduced a more modernized land policy during the colonial era.
by Tae-Hun Hwang, Dong.com (May 19, 2006)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2006051900938

[seoulsucker]

This has serious potential to make our lives easier here.

However, I doubt that people will be quick to adopt the system, even though it's easier and more efficient. Not necessarily a Korean thing, but people are reluctant to major changes like this.

There will have to be some major work done on the street signs here to make them visible and prominent, but I think it could be done in a year or two.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Oh no! What am I going to do with all these enormous maps of my neighbourhood?

[eamo]

I thought those little blue building number plus road name signs went up when I first came here. Back in 2000.

[OiGirl]

[JeJuJitsu]

[RACETRAITOR]

Wow, that would be crazy.

I've always thought most Koreans are so awful at directions because of the address system.

[Col.Brandon]

Well, it's about freakin' time!

Slooooly Korea is making progress towards the 20th century.

[Zyzyfer]

[schwa]

Post office put a big push on the new street addresses here a couple years ago when they were first introduced (& well signed) but nobody bought into it. Even other govt agencies told me no, whats your old address?

Its gonna take a while yet.

[mindmetoo]

Whoa! While I applaud this move, who here DOESN'T feel like Lewis and Clark got nothing on you every time you try to follow a map on how to get from a subway station to some restaurant or wedding hall?

[seoulsucker]

Korea's clusterfu(k style urban (non) planning is blame for the inability to implement this kind of system. Everything was built so quickly and shoddily that they didn't take time to think things through.

There's also the fact that the majority of people I come across in this city never venture outside of the "dong" they've lived in their entire lives. They have no need to know how to get around other areas of the city.

Look at just about any major city in the modern world from above and you'll see a waffle pattern. Seoul? Spaghetti.

I usually skip any chapter based on giving directions in my classes, because street names, blocks, intersections, corners and addresses are useless here.

I really hope this takes off.

[Hater Depot]

[Hollywoodaction]

Waste of time and waste of money if this is done to facilitate mail delivery. It would be far simpler if they had more specific postal codes, like in Canada, where codes are specific to each side of a road, and even the buildings if they are large enough.

[VanIslander]

maybe it'll work in Seoul

but it's laughable in more rural towns and small cities where roads aren't even named, or at least neither posted nor known by locals