If you're new to Korea—or shipping something there for the first time—the address system can feel confusing. The same building often has two different addresses, and the English format follows yet another set of conventions. This guide explains everything in one place.
1. Two Address Systems in Korea
Korea uses two parallel addressing systems that can refer to the same location.
Road Address (도로명주소) — official since 2014
Identifies a location by road name + building number. Used for mail, delivery, and navigation.
- Structure: City/Province → District → Road name → Building number → (Unit detail)
- Korean example: 서울특별시 중구 세종대로 110
- English: 110, Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul
Lot Number Address (지번주소) — land registry based
Identifies a location by administrative district + lot number. Still used in real estate and some official documents.
- Structure: City/Province → District → Neighborhood → Lot number
- Example: 서울특별시 중구 태평로1가 31
Both addresses above refer to the same building (Government Complex-Seoul). You can search either format on this service and get the same result.
2. How Road Addresses Work
Building number logic
Building numbers run sequentially from the road's starting point. Odd numbers on the left, even on the right. For example, building 110 on Sejong-daero is on the right (even) side, roughly 1.1 km from the starting point.
Road grade suffixes
- -daero (대로): 8+ lanes. Examples: Sejong-daero, Teheran-ro
- -ro (로): 2–7 lanes. Examples: Chungmu-ro, Yulgok-ro
- -gil (길): Small lane. Examples: Insadong-gil, Namsangol-gil
3. English Address Format
English addresses follow the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Romanization guidelines:
- Road names are Romanized phonetically (세종대로 → Sejong-daero)
- Districts use hyphens (중구 → Jung-gu, 강남구 → Gangnam-gu)
- Building number comes before the road name (110, Sejong-daero)
- Administrative units go from smallest to largest (Jung-gu, Seoul)
This service automatically converts any Korean address to the correct English format. Simply search and copy.
4. Reading Korean Zip Codes
Korean zip codes are 5 digits. The first digit indicates the region:
| Prefix | Region | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 0xx | Seoul | 03142, 06164 |
| 1xx | Gyeonggi, Incheon | 13487, 21999 |
| 2xx | Gangwon | 24232 |
| 3xx | Chungcheong, Daejeon, Sejong | 34054, 35208 |
| 4xx–6xx | Honam, Yeongnam, Jeju | 44949, 61187 |
5. Apartment Addresses
Korea has one of the world's highest apartment-dwelling rates, so knowing how to write apartment addresses matters.
- Korean: 서울 강남구 테헤란로 152, 101동 1502호
- English: 101-dong, 1502-ho, 152, Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- For international shipping, always include the building number (dong) and unit (ho) in Address Line 2 to avoid delivery errors.
Summary
Korea's address system is logical once you understand the structure. Whether you search by road name or lot number, this service will show you the English address and zip code together. For step-by-step search instructions, see How to Use This Site.