The hardest part of writing a Korean address in English is the word order. Korean lists the largest unit first (province, city), while English starts with the smallest (street, number). Once you understand this, the rest is simple.
1. Reversed word order
English addresses go from smallest to largest:
- Korean: 서울특별시 강남구 테헤란로 123
- English: 123 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
2. Romanizing districts and provinces
- 구 (district) → -gu (강남구 → Gangnam-gu)
- 시 (city) → -si (수원시 → Suwon-si)
- 도 (province) → -do (경기도 → Gyeonggi-do)
- Metropolitan cities → plain name (Seoul, Busan, Incheon)
3. Postal code
Korea switched to 5-digit postal codes in 2015. The old 6-digit codes are no longer used. Enter the 5-digit code in the ZIP Code field.
4. Building and unit numbers
- Building 101, Unit 1502 → Apt 101-1502
- 5th floor, Room 301 → 5F Suite 301
5. Common mistakes
- Using a 6-digit postal code (use 5 digits)
- Writing only "Korea" (use South Korea)
- Putting the building number after the road name (it goes before)
- Omitting the unit number (required for large apartment complexes)
The Korean address converter uses official government data, so districts, provinces, and postal codes are romanized correctly and automatically.