Want to send a gift or letter to a loved one in South Korea? Or are you living there yourself and want to receive or send mail? In this guide, we explain the South Korean address format so you can send and receive post in the country.
Jump to main sections:
Sending Post to Korea (International)
Address Example in English
Sending Post in Korea (Domestic)
Address Example in Korean
Should I Use Korean or English When Sending Post in South Korea?
This depends on where you’re sending the mail from. If you’re based in South Korea yourself and you need to send something to someone else in the country (i.e. domestically), you should write the mailing address in Korean.
Those living outside of South Korea should use English. If you know Korean and you’re comfortable writing in 한글 (hangeul), the best option is that you write the address in both English and Korean.
And if you’re sending mail from South Korea to a different country, English plus Korean is best here too.
Is The Korean Address Format Easy To Understand?
You’ll be pleased to know that addressing a letter or package to South Korea is fairly similar to other parts of the world as they use a Road Name Address system. Though they previously used a land-lot based address, which is much more complicated, they changed this in 2011 so foreigners and Koreans could send post more easily.
That being said, there are some key differences, which we’ll get into next.
South Korean Address Format (International)
For those who want to send mail to South Korea from a different country, use English to ensure postal workers in your country of origin can also read the address. And, if possible, add the address in Korean too, though this isn’t necessary. Don’t worry; addresses in English will get to Korea safely, as long as you’ve written them out correctly!
The formatting for sending mail to South Korea is a little different compared to other countries in the Western world. Here’s the format you should use:
Recipient name
Address line (ordered from smallest division to largest)
City, Province
Postal Code
Country
Let’s use the US embassy’s address in Seoul as an example:
[Recipient name]
US Embassy
188 Sejong-daero
Jongno District, Seoul
South Korea
03141
+82 (0)2 397-4114
Refer to the domestic section below to find out how to write this in Korean.
What Are The Postage Costs for Domestic Mail in South Korea?
Standard letter costs within Korea are affordable, typically ranging from 350 KRW (about 0.30 USD) for a basic letter. Make sure to check the Korea Post website or your local branch for any changes in pricing based on the size or weight of your mail.
South Korean Address Format (Domestic)
Korean addresses are formatted in the opposite way to the US and most other European countries, with the largest entity first (i.e. the country), followed by the province and city of the recipient, then the neighbourhood, then the road or street, and finally the apartment and apartment number. The recipient’s name is placed after this, followed by the postal code.
Korean Address Example
The basic format is below. Note that the address should be in Korean when sending domestic mail. Add the phone number of the recipient at the end so the postal service can contact them if they can’t locate the address.
Country name (South Korea)
Address line (Ordered from larger to smaller division)
Recipient name
Postal code
Phone number
If you’re sending post domestically, you don’t need to include the country name.
Let’s use the US embassy’s address in Seoul as an example again. In Korean, this would be:
서울특별시 종로구 세종대로 188
주한미국대사관
[이름] 귀하
우: 03141
연락처: +82 (0)2 397-4114
Romanized, this is:
Seoulteukbyeolsi Jongno-gu Sejongdae-ro 188
Juhanmigukdaesagwan
[ireum] gwiha
U: 03141
Yeonrakcheo: +82 (0)2 397-4114
And translated, this is:
Seoul City, Jongno District, 188 Sejong Main Road
US Embassy in Seoul
Recipient name – to (honorific)
03141 (postal code)
Recipient’s contact number: +82 (0)2 397-4114
As you can see, the number comes after the road or street name.
How Do I Read An Address in Korean?
Here are some important words you should know in order to decipher an address easily in Korean:
- 대한민국 (daehanmingook) – The Republic of South Korea
- 도 (do) – province (전라남도 (Jeollanamdo, South Jeolla Province) is an example of a province). Provinces are subdivided into cities, districts, neighborhoods, towns, townships and villages.
- 특별시 (teukbyeolsi) – Literally means “special city”. Attaches only to 서울 (Seoul) when writing the city name out on a letter (i.e. 서울특별시).
- 광역시 (gwangyeoksi) – Refers to metropolitan cities. Attaches to the six largest city names besides 서울 (i.e. Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan) when writing the city name on an envelope (e.g. 부산광역시)
- 시 (si) – city (refers to cities smaller than the above seven)
- 구 (gu) – district (e.g. 강남 (Gangnam) in Seoul is a district). It’s an area in large cities that has a population of 500, 000 or more
- 동 (dong) – neighborhood. All city districts are divided into neighborhoods (e.g. Apgujeong-dong is a neighborhood in Gangnam)
- 군 (gun) – a county. Found in provinces across South Korea (e.g. 부안군/Buan County is a part of North Jeolla province)
- 읍 (eup) – a town. Part of a county/군 or cities with less than 500,000 people. It’s an urban administrative unit in Korea
- 면 (myeon) – a township. Makes up part of a county/군 or cities with less than 500,000 people. These are rural administrative units in Korea and have smaller population sizes than towns/읍.
- 리 (ri) – villages. Subdivisions of towns and townships.
- 대로 (daero) – boulevard/main street (the widest type of road)
- 로 (ro) – road (more narrow than 대로, but wider than 길)
- 길 (gil) – street (the smallest type of road
- 호 (ho) – office or apartment number (refers to an interior number in a building)
- 귀하 (gwiha) – to (honorific). Used after writing the recipient’s name (e.g. 김민수 귀하)
- 우 (u) – denotes postal code
Korean Road Numbering Systems
You might notice that, instead of the address simply saying 길 for street, it includes a word before 길. This includes 번(길), 가(길), 나(길), 다(길), 라(길), and more.
So what does this mean?
Korea uses three different numbering systems, most of which are applied to 길 rather than any other road type.
Basic Numbering System
The first is the basic numbering system, which uses 번길 as part of the address. This is sometimes used when the street (길) is attached to a main street (대로) or road (로) and is used to indicate the position of the street in relation to the main street or road. In such cases, the street is not often named, so the number + 번길 is used instead.
Take, for example 강선로12번길 (Gangseonro12beongil). Here, the road is 강선. The number 12 indicates where the street begins in relation to 강선’s starting point. The basic number increases by one for every 10 meters, so the number 12 means that the street starts 120 metres away from the beginning of 강선 road.
You can see it on this map here:
Serial Numbering System
This system essentially assigns a number to 길 according to where it’s positioned in relation to a 대로 or 로.
For instance, if a street is the first one to branch off of 율곡로 (Yulgok-ro), it would be written as 율곡로1길 (Yulgok-ro 1-gil). You can actually see this below:
The next road to branch off would be referred to as 율곡로2길, which you can see on the map above.
And, easier still, just like in most Western countries, an odd number denotes that the street forks off to the left of the main road/road, while an even number symbolizes that it forks off to the right.
Take a look at the map to see what I mean: all streets ranching off north from 율곡로 include odd numbers before 길, and all streets branching off south of 율곡로 are even.
Other Numbering System
And finally, any smaller side streets diverging from a street in Korea use the other numbering system.
This system uses the official order of the Korean alphabet (i.e. 가 나 다 라 마 바 사 아 자 차 카 타 파 하) to show the order in which the street diverges into side streets. This is from the street’s starting point.
For example, 능동로3가길 (shown below) denotes that:
- From the road 능동로, you take the third turning (or second left turn if you don’t include the right hand turning since we know that odd numbers are on the left hand side from the beginning of a road)
- You’re now on 능동로3길
- Next, you take the first turning (left because it’s an odd number)
- Now you’re on the side street 능동로3가길!
Apartment and Office Buildings
Apartment buildings are a little more complex than the embassy building in the example above. South Korea has a lot of large apartment and office blocks. Let’s look at an example:
해운대자이아파트 102동 5층 304호 (Haeundae JY Apartment, Building 102, Floor 5 Apartment 304)
Here, there are three numbers shown.
동 might seem familiar to you as I mentioned it above. But whereas in that context, it means neighborhood, in this context it means building, block or apartment complex.
In some other cases, you might see the word 단지 (danji), which also means apartment complex. You’ll usually see this word paired with the word for apartment on Korean addresses: 아파트 단지 (apateu danji; apartment complex).
And in others, you might see the word 차, e.g. 2차. This indicates a number in a series, and usually means that several apartment blocks have been built by the same construction company. You’ll see this word being used when buildings have the same name (the only difference being that the number before 차 is different, e.g. 1차, 2차, 3차, etc.). Here’s an example: Daewoo Marina. If you change the number before 차 to 2 or 3, it’ll show you a different apartment complex in the area.
Back to the example above. 층 means floor, so we know the apartment is on floor five in this example.
And finally, as mentioned earlier, a number followed by 호 denotes the office or apartment number. In this case, it’s apartment 304.
It’s not always this complicated; sometimes only an apartment number is shown, and sometimes only the building and apartment numbers are needed.
How Many Stamps Do I Need to Mail a Letter to South Korea?
The number of stamps you need depends on the size and weight of your envelope or package. It’s best to check with your local post office to ensure you put enough stamps on the letter.
In a lot of Western countries, like the United Kingdom and the United States, you can usually buy international postage stamps (e.g. Royal Mail in the UK and USPS in the US).
For the UK, you must buy the correct number of stamps depending on where your mail is going and how heavy it is.
In the US, as long as your letter is under one ounce, you can get a single international postage stamp. If it’s larger than this, use USPS’s calculator to find out how much extra postage you must pay or visit your local Post Office.
How Much Does It Cost to Mail a Letter to South Korea?
This varies depending on where you’re sending the mail from and the size or weight of your package.
For the US, sending a basic letter to South Korea (weighing less than one ounce) will cost you approximately $1.65 with one Global stamp. If you’re sending a package, the cost will vary greatly depending on its size and weight.
For the UK, international standard letter prices start from £2.80 for standard delivery.
If you’re sending valuable items, it’s a good idea to use a service with tracking options to ensure safe delivery. This will be more expensive; in the UK, prices start from £7.90 for tracked letters being sent abroad.
How Long Does It Take for Mail to Get to Korea?
This really depends on where you’re sending mail from and which service you choose. Letters and postcards can get to South Korea from the USA and bigger European cities within three to five days if you use an express delivery service.
Regular mail usually take around seven to 14 business days to get delivered to South Korea. And, if you decide to choose a slower delivery service to save on costs, this could take up to eight weeks.
It’s best to speak with someone at your local post office branch to find out how long it will take for your mail to get to Korea so you can decide which delivery service to go for.
Note that the branch can only give you an estimate for the length of time that it’ll take for the package or letter to arrive in South Korea. Its journey from the Korean depot to the recipient varies depending on the local postal service in South Korea.
Are There Any South Korean Mail Restrictions?
Yes, restrictions apply to most countries sending things to South Korea. This includes:
- Plants
- Fruits and vegetables
- Agricultural, poultry and forestry products
- Animal products (including meat, skin, fur)
- Live animals
- Dangerous items (e.g. narcotics, explosives, flammable and radioactive materials)
- Counterfeit currency or stamps
- Documents, books, printed papers, engravings or other articles that could risk public security
- Items that contain confidential information on government or intelligence activities.
- All weapons (including firearms, sabres and swords)
- Products or materials made from endangered animals
- Payment in foreign currency, check, or domestic currency (KRW) exceeding $10,000 USD
- Cashier’s checks, overdraft checks, postal money orders, etc.
- Counterfeit and pirated goods that infringe copyright and intellectual property rights
Make sure to check official restrictions for South Korea on your government website.
What Is the Two-Letter Country Code for South Korea?
The two-letter country code for South Korea is KR, and the three-letter code is KOR.
Make sure that if you’re posting a letter internationally to South Korea, you write out SOUTH KOREA in full instead of using its country code.
How Do I Find An Address In South Korea?
If you’re planning your trip and you’re worried about getting to the address in question, it’s a good idea to download KakaoMaps (App Store | Play Store), Naver Maps (App Store | Play Store) or another navigational app specifically for South Korea. It’s easier to use if you know at least some Korean.
KakaoMetro is also a good app to download if you’re travelling to an area with metro lines.
Whilst Google Maps can be fairly good in the country, downloading an app specifically for South Korea is usually more accurate, plus you get a whole load more useful information for your trip, like good places to eat, reviews of tourist spots, and more.
It’s a good idea to check the directions and screenshot them so they’re stored on your phone for when you travel, especially if you aren’t planning on buying a SIM card in the country.
What Is a Detailed Address for The Q-Code Entry Form?
When you’re going to be staying in South Korea, most people from overseas must fill in a Q-Code entry form. On this form, it asks “Please input the address at which you will be available during your stay in Korea.” Often, people struggle to input the correct address, with many getting the error message “please enter a detailed address”.
If you’re struggling to input the address in this section, this is likely because you’re filling out the form in English. Usually, you have to fiddle around with the spacing and dashes in order to get the correct address to show up.
For instance, if you’re staying on 영동대로 (Yeongdong-daero), try variations of this, such as Yeongdong-daero, Yeongdongdaero and Yeongdong daero). Alternatively, search for the postcode and use the selector to find the correct address.
Related Vocabulary Words
- 주소 (juso) – address
- 봉투 (bongtu) – envelope
- 편지 (pyeonji) – letter
- 우표 (upyo) – stamp
- 우체국 (ucheguk) – post office
- 우편번호 (upyeonbeonho) – zip/postal code
Hope The Parcel Gets Delivered Well
Good luck with the postal delivery! If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.