NAVER Maps, Navigation Customer Service

I arrived in Seoul, Korea, three days ago and was recommended Navver by a hostel mate I met in Okinawa. Despite my initial apprehension due to some negative reviews, I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did! Navver has proven to be a high-performing app, possibly one of the best I have used. It stands out by providing rich detail through live activities on iPhones with dynamic island support and helpful notifications on the home screen. The audio guidance is clear and precise, making navigation through the bustling streets of Seoul a breeze. What impressed me the most is Navver’s eagerness to deliver an exceptional navigation experience in a major city. The app is incredibly helpful, and I found it to be more detailed and user-friendly than Apple Maps in many aspects. My only feedback is that for those who cannot read Korean, including tourists, the station numbers are not shown in the app (additional some gate entry doesn’t match the maps guidance making hard to determine which line direction to enter). Adding station numbers would make it much easier to quickly understand one’s location and navigate to the next station, similar to the system in China. Overall, I really like the app experience. With minor adjustments, Navver has the potential to be a major competitor to Google Maps and Apple Maps. Highly recommended for anyone navigating Seoul!

The old GUI was devided to direction, navigation, location, etc. so complicate to use. New one comes better. The structure is getting simplified and close to google map. But still feels little bit complicate. I like the graphic and color. Map is one of the wonderful function of smart phone and most frequently used app. Thank for your work.

Did a 3 month solo travel to South Korea and I used this app every day, not kidding. My Korean is very veryyy limited and I grew up in a countryside so had no experience with public transportation or cities other than airport “subways” lol. This accurately told bus arrival times, gave detailed information and graphics for getting from one place to another, you can save restaurants and shops (even super obscure ones you wouldn’t think would be listed, I went outside of main cities a lot) in different folder types and the markings of the folder color show up on the map all together. Very helpful for planning out stations, where to eat, where you’re staying, how to get literally anywhere. I’m so grateful to this app where I didn’t have to ask any strangers directions to places, a lifesaver for introverts and anyone who isn’t versed in traveling Korea. I’ll always download it when I visit. So many grumpy reviews, yet this was a lifesaver for me!!!!

I don’t know where all those bad reviews coming but this is the best app you want to use it in English. When using public transportation it’s 100% everything in English compared to their competitors app when you create directions all public transportation navigation is in Korean language so if you don’t understand then you don’t know where to go. Make sure you allow in settings to use your location. It’s not as good as google maps but very close to it. Thumbs up for devs who work on this project from fellow developer :) The only thing reviews section only in Korean language so can’t leave reviews and yes if you read this review please add translation to reviews so we can translate even if we can’t leave it. I think Google translate API should be good thing to integrate for it.

I was in Seoul for a month and I relied on Naver maps everyday to get me around. Granted it is not flawless but I don’t understand the massive whining about this app. Yes, it got me messed up a few time but it was absolutely better than nothing. Once I learned my way around the public transportation I used it to check bus and train times which were insanely accurate and the walking part of Naver was great. It directed me to all the places I needed to see. So I give it five stars because it was a great app for the month I used it. I didn’t give up after the first time it got something wrong. I kept at it and with the help of the app and the kind Korean people I was able to have a wonderful experience. 🇺🇸

I am absolutely confused why this app has received so many negative reviews. Maybe people are upset that this Korean app has some *gasp* Korean? Nonsense. This app showed us very accurate directions to places we needed to go. It showed us timetables of when the next train and bus was arriving, as well as accurate walking directions. There is a setting to change it to English (which is what we used), but some places (for example, restaurants) will not have an English translation and that’s okay. It wasn’t slow or buggy when we were using it in South Korea. I highly recommend this app for travel!

Not sure why the bad reviews. This app was indispensable for our trip in Korea. It’s the exact same app used by the taxis and transfers we had to use occasionally. English was fine and I can’t read any Korean. We used this app all day every day for the trip to find the best routes including walking. We mainly used it for the subway. Google is terrible in Korea and Apple is just slightly better. This app has better routes than both.

I appreciate the additional features and functionality that this app provides over Kakao, such as more detailed information about locations and the ability to make reservations with Naver (if you have a Korean phone number). My only request is to add the ability to copy text, specifically the place or business name, so that I can look it up easier in other apps like Google.

Hey honestly In the comments are just a bunch of ungrateful Americans… this app helped me navigate everywhere! Yeah it could be better but honestly this works for what it is. This app gave bus and train routes, walking distances, everything that I could of needed it had it. The only negative thing i can say is that it could be more precise with your location on the map but you can work without it. Overall great app it helped me out A LOT!!!

I don’t know why Google nor Apple Maps work well or at all in South Korea, maybe a licensing or privacy issue, luckily I read about and downloaded NAVER and found it to be very good, clear and detailed instructions, especially when riding the subway or just walking (I did not drive so can’t say about that mode). It froze a couple of times on me but overall it worked fast and responsive.

Honestly a bit of a learning curve at first, but once you get past learning how to use the interface this app is better than most common apps. A must use when in Korea. I even noticed locals using this map app for directions. Shows accurate pick up times and walking directions even inside of Subway stations. Amazing app!!

We recently traveled to Korea and rented a car. This app was a life saver!! To try to navigate in a new country and in Korean was a challenge but this app was the easiest to figure out and user friendly. Make sure you give yourself a few minutes to play with it and it would be a great addition to your trip.

Generally works great in English. Once you’ve prepped your trip, remember to click go so it can keep track of you. If you try to do it later once you’re en route, it gets confused. Tracking sometimes glitches when combining walking and metro routes at once.

The title should tell you all you need to know. There are better apps for navigation, but you’ll need Korean fluency. Google has gaps in Korea. Naver gives clear accurate instructions in English. For service booking please do use other apps like Catchtable for restaurant reservations.

Maps worked great for a week in Seoul. I used walking and subway guidance. Satellite view was great. The recommended subway entrance and exits were very helpful. Also the pedestrian tunnel recommendations were helpful for crossing multi-lane roads. English app works well while reviews say Google Maps don’t work well in Korea.

Naver was SO helpful, when I connected online it still guided me when I didn’t have my SIM card as long as I didn’t reload the app. Very helpful with bus times, numbers, and I got to school on time every day! Great app and it had English so i knew where to go!

Much better than Kakao Maps since English is more well supported in the app. You can get turn by turn directions in English with reasonable tools for setting start and stop. Also super easy for finding restaurants to go to.

I don’t know why so many people are complaining. This is my first time in Korea and my Airbnb host recommended I use this app for transportation. I’ve had no problem with it, yeah some of the places are in Korean but if you can direct yourself by watching for the right stops I see no problem. Thank you Naver

There are things to be improved such as fuzzy search and support for English input, but the app overall is very powerful and easy to use. I’m a foreigner that read and write Korean. Maybe that has helped me dodge some of the problems mentioned in the one-star reviews.

I went to South Korea for the first time and Naver Maps was a life saver. Super easy to use. I was able to navigate the subway station so easily. I wasn’t concerned about going anywhere because of the app. Honestly, anyone traveling to SK NEEDS to download this app.

Google Map doesn’t work well in Seoul. Kakao is the best & cab drivers uses it but navigation details is in Korean hence not useful for us (Can’t read Korean). Though NAVER is not on par with Kakao, if you work around its limitation, it’s usable & helpful for those of us who can’t read Korean.

This app is so great for traveling, getting directions, booking appointments and paying straight from the app. I cannot believe how accurate and timely public transportation is. I wish we had this app in the US. So efficient!

Great for finding bus routes, but an English interface would be very much appreciated.

NAVER worked really well on a week-long work trip to Korea. For using public transportation it was indispensable. The app will tell you how many more stops the bus you’re waiting for has before your pickup as well as how many (names included) before you need to exit. If you’re having difficulty inputting English names for destinations (which it mostly got right), paste in your destination name with its Korean characters from a Google search

Really excellent for navigating Seoul. Takes a part of a day to get used to the system, if one’s only used google or Apple, but once you do it’s so much better. Fantastic tool to navigate Seoul’s comprehensive metro and bus system and activities happening around you in real time e, with detailed directions, prices, and integrated walking, transit and bus options with great ways to choose if you want to only use buses or metros or both. 6 stars!

If you’re using a KT SIM card like I was, the app will show in Korean when looking up routes. It’s somewhat usable, but not ideal. Switching to a Nomad APAC eSIM has changed the language to English. YMMV depending on SIM. Enjoy.

Well I’ll start by saying that the map itself isn’t too bad but google maps is just as good it just won’t draw you an exact line for walking or driving in South Korea like NAVER does. When setting up a NAVER account make sure to use a email as a backup and turn off your vpn while using it for booking something like a restaurant reservation. If you don’t your account will get suspended and you will be unable to recover it. I got a message saying my device was coming from somewhere suspicious location (vpn) and that it is suspended. Why would they not like vpns idk makes no sense to me people should have the right to protect their data but I guess not if NAVER is involved. I think the only suspicious party is NAVER for there total lack of customer support and ability to foresee potential issues with there app and come up with reasonable solutions.

This app is the go to app to have for Korea travel for sure. However, the app is very slow to open and often is buggy when you’re trying to use it live. Could be more user-friendly when it comes to Subway use because it loses track of you sometimes in the subway and you need an easier way to be able to select the stop you’re actually at. The search function does not work that well when typing in the names of places you’re trying to find or addresses. For instance, if you find an address, you’re interested in on Google maps, but then need to use this map to navigate it often times cannot find the place that you are looking for. The search function desperately needs to be upgraded.

At the time of this writing neither Google nor Apple Maps support walking directions in Seoul. Naver does, which is why it isn’t a 1 star. If either of those companies manages to add walking directions, you should never download Naver. Everything else about this app is garbage. Terrible use experience from start to finish. Expect it to crash. Anticipate every tap to take at least three seconds to respond. Expect it to forget that it was in a navigation mode as you frantically try to retrieve the state you left it in. Be aware no more than maybe 10% of it is translated to English and a first year CS student could produce a better search experience.

Ive been using the phone in the us and brought to Korea, and the phone is still set in English and the app store being us version. The app worked just fine before the update and now it is horrible. First of all, it takes forever to do anything, starting from locating myself and searching for places, and the app stalls occasionally. I also think it’s quite uncomfortable to translate every locations even when I search it in Korean(I have to double check because some places have different English name). I might give some credit to developers if they intended to make it comfortable for foreigners, but I think there should be an option to choose the preferred language. Optimization needs to be done asap and some improvements too.

Would not let me login with last trip user ID Created new one with phone number verified then suspend my login in less than 24 hours saying I am from a suspicious network. Can’t recover account. Cannot login. Wry few and little English. Complete garbage if you are not Korean in Korean with a Korean phone number and a Korean ID Update: Complete trash. Requested customer support on their website and they respond in Korean. Had to use g translate. And it says sorry you are in an unsafe location (in the USA with t mobile and att!!! That is unsafe!!!) Says nothing else. Do not use. Do not submit any official document for customer service. You will give up your ID and privacy for garbage

I have been using Naver for many years, and was quite satisfied with it but few months ago i start having an issue with it. When i drive long i use CarPlay in my car, use NaverMap for navigation and usually play some music or listen to podcast. My problem that music or podcast stops every time NaverMap announces something, once announcement is completed, play restarts. I would like to have option to have announcements play simultaneously with podcast/music. I did not have this problem in the past, but after an update several months ago i start having this issue. I would appreciate if you could fix this. Thanks

Very slow at times. When you’re in a trip, it doesn’t tell how long you have left (in terms of time, only distance) searching for things as a foreigner in English is incredibly tedious, even when translating things in Korean so many things aren’t searchable even though they are right here in the map. It doesn’t load at all if no network connection. It got us to where we needed successfully several times, but it is such a downgrade to Google Maps, sorry. A lot more work in the foundational things is needed

Completely unable to sign up for an account which cripples many features. I have attempted several times to create an account, and it’s locked for fraud each time. I have even provided a picture of my government-issued passport as requested by support - no luck. It’s a shame that navigating within Korea basically requires either this app or its major competitor as both of them are nearly inaccessible to foreigner tourists. While I have no doubt that they work OK for Koreans, using them presents major problems for tourists attempting to visit the country, and the app developers seem incapable of providing support for foreign users.

I saved a bunch of restaurants and other locations for an upcoming trip to Seoul and while I was using the app it locked me out. I spent hours researching and saving things throughout the city. I had already created an account but all of the sudden they made me register with a Korean number while I was here. I don’t have one so I don’t have access to anything I have saved and it locked me out. I don’t really understand why this suddenly happened but not a great experience as an international traveler.

Tried to use this to save locations I wanted to visit on vacation. One day I opened it and every location I had saved to visit was deleted. Only the default list was there and it had nothing in it, and there was no way to get anything back. Asked on Reddit and turns out the same thing happened to others. It’s good for navigation imo cause you can search in the Roman alphabet but horrible if you want to save anything for later. Like what map apps are often used for. Get this for searching in foreign alphabets and kakao map for everything else.

If you're a foreigner living in Korea, you are probably using Naver because Kakao does not have an English version, and Waze and Google Maps don't work well here due to Korea's data restrictions. The problem is that Naver is a terrible app. It's AI is awful. The worst feature (by far) is that it constantly tries to re-route you in directions that make absolutely no sense. It simply refuses to stick with an initial route. It will give you a different route every single time. I've given up on this app. You're better off just using trial and error.

The app was working fine for me until I booked a service through the app. After my appointment was confirmed and I had been charged a deposit amount, my account got suspended from signing in with NAVER stating “the account was joined from abuse-suspicious location or in an abnormal process.” Upon searching on Reddit, Facebook, TikTok this seems to be a regular issue for foreigners. Even after appealing and sending the necessary documentation my account is still suspended. For foreigners, there is no direct contact information (phone number, chat or email) for help.

Used this app for almost 4 years and it worked just fine until now. They updated and it has become completely unreliable. It loses my track right before turns, reroutes me in directions that don’t make sense, and completely shuts down while in the middle of driving. Can be a safety hazard. I used to love it because it was easy to find places, gave good warnings about speed cameras and rest stops. Unfortunately, I can’t rely on it any longer. Hope they update it to fix the issues.

When I first started using this app, I could use English as well as Korean to search for places. Now I can only use one or the other. This app has seemed to have gotten worse over the past couple of years. It started freezing and then the navigation would disappear mid-route. So I haven’t been too happy with it. This latest update changed some things and my biggest complaint is that the when I choose English as the language of choice, it deletes my Korean keyboard. One star.

Why did you change the whole thing? I mean, before it changed like now, it was useful to find a way to places I wanted to go. It had its own fashion and creativity. And it was easy to use too. But now, as I mentioned earlier, I DO NOT understand why you guys transformed this app into a weird thing. It looks like Google map, but it is not useful just like Google. Furthermore, It becomes too complicated to use as a navigation tool. I can’t even find the information I want! It just becomes chaos. Please change the whole thing back to the original.

The new app is seriously testing my patience every time I use it. I hate that you can’t use the app in Korean if your iPhone’s language is set to English. I see how it can be a plus for some ppl, but I have used it in Korean for many years and English transliteration just seems so confusing now! Another thing - if the app is running in the background and I bring it forward to do a new search, the app just stalls! Most of the time I have to kill the app and open it again. Super annoying , especially when you are in a hurry.

Its an okay up some improvements would definitely make it better. The bus stops are not exact, but close enough for you to know what stop is what. But ive been living in busan for a month and its helped me get by. The best advice i can give for using this app is just to pay attention to the stops and where your going. Also look at your surroundings, building may be wrong because they come and go so quick in korea.

During my extended stay in Seoul, Naver suspended my account due to 'suspicious login,' and despite appealing twice, they said my account doesn't belong to me and there's nothing they can do to help me. I lost all of my saved locations within that account. Their phone support line lacks international language options, and the website lacks a help desk ticket system. The app cannot export/import saved favorites. Otherwise, for public transit routing and timetables, it is the best app I have found

I attempted to create an account with an American phone # with T-Mobile, but the verification codes wouldn’t even send, and the number wasn’t ever blocked from T-Mobile to begin with. I was on the phone with T-Mobile for an hour only to find this out, and even still couldn’t get it to work. There were no more options within the app, such as verification through email, and I’m out of luck in regards to this.

Very annoying navigation app. It tells you 3 times about turn, speed limit etc. approximately 800 meters before, 400 and 100. While it tells you about turn or something else you cover the distance and it’s time to tell you again and then third time. So, it continuously talking about everything and distracting a driver. There should be an option to limit number of times that app tells you about everything. Ones more then enough.

This app was a lifesaver back when I was visiting relatives last year. Sure, it lagged sometimes, but that was a negligible con compared to the pros. It was a reliable & informative app with great bus/transportation info. I barely used Google Maps at all during my time in Seoul — this app was my go-to. Then there was this update. The layout is may look a bit prettier, faux modern sleek-ish, but the functionality is basically trash. Plus, there was the added “bonus” of all my saved locations being deleted. All of my saved routes and transportation methods have disappeared. All of the places I noted down to visit or revisit at a later date are just gone, which is obviously upsetting. They shouldn’t have updated this. It was fine, better than fine, before.

The app logged me out due to suspicious activity and then didn’t offer any way to help resolve. I created a new account and logged me out again. The gps is accurate 25% of the time, otherwise it will pinpoint you next to the mountains in Seoul. Please get some developers to fix the bugs in the app especially if foreigners like us are being forced to use it since Google maps doesn’t work well out here.

If you have an address try putting the name of the street followed by building number. The search default is on “map centered” and “relevance”. However, most people want “on my location” and “distance” It’s an annoying experience but you’ll get there eventually.

If you're a foreigner, good luck trying to use this app. Basic features like pinning locations are locked behind a login, and every available account-making feature doesn't work. The captcha doesn't work, phone verification codes never get sent, and they say they offer Facebook login but then it says the app is disconnected and cannot be used. Completely broken and useless.

The only reason you’ll download this app, is because South Korea has passed legislation which makes it impossible for competitors to these local mapping and search engines. So it can give you directions. But it is absolutely terrible for foreigners and the English accessibility of the data is almost non-existent. South Korea clearly doesn’t care about Tourists or business travelers to be able to get around or see things.

The old interface was simple and efficient. This is not even an update; it’s like having to use a new map application. Korean transit station names are no longer listed in Korean and we are forced to use the English version. The layout is overly complex and it is very difficult to switch between different sections of the app quickly. I have used Naver maps for over five years but this recent update has forced me to look for other options.

This app is really bad, from crashing, to lagging, to not showing places on the map, to the GPS being as inaccurate as it can be. I don’t recommend it, but what option do you have? This app is pretty much a monopoly and it shows, after all it has no need to improve, why change if people are going to donwload it anyway? Well, good luck to you and may God have mercy on your soul, because Naver won’t.

I’m not sure why but u used to be able to see all your saved places as little stars on the map. You could go to any area and quickly see what’s around. But they keep removing the feature and it’s so stupid. Now I have to scroll through the list making finding things incredibly inconvenient. Please give users the option to have it visible or not :(

After 3 days from downloading the app in Canada, my account got suspended due to abnormal process and I’m unable to retrieve my account anymore. I bookmarked all my places/food so I can be ready before my trip to Korea but all are now gone.

Poor GPS locating and keeps recommending small alleys and roads without pedestrian sidewalks for walking directions. Not foreigner friendly at all and had a terrible time looking for addresses in English

Got suspended

Read all the reviews before wasting your time with this app. They will ban you if you use it outside of Korea, and all your research will be gone. According to Reddit, the same will happen if you’re a foreigner inside Korea. This app shouldn’t be on the store.

Horrible app…Korea should just use Google maps. This app is horrible we got lost few times.

This app is so slow and hard to use. It’s missing a lot of places and doesn’t understand what you’re searching unless you type the exact spelling. It also may not provide the closest route. Google Maps is much better.

Account got suspended within a few hours after downloading. Same issue with others.

Cannot log in

I downloaded this app in South Korea because other maps don't work but ironically, my account was banned due to "abuse-suspicious location" and can no longer detect all the places I've had saved. It's left me lost in a country that speaks next to no English and has made my stay a nightmare.

I should’ve read the reviews before using this app. I also had a lot of places and restaurants saved until they suspended my account and lost all my stuff. This happened twice in 2 months! I guess I’ll settle with kakaotalk maps instead.

Cannot log in, the recaptcha never works. Cannot read reviews as well. Why does it exisits of no one maintain it

I can’t even keep an account without them suspending it a day later here in Canada. You can’t even add your phone number because they have everything but that number, don’t use it to plan routes or anything if your in America or Canada it’s not worth your time.

자꾸 버스번호 잘못알려줌

Not sure why I can’t use Google map in Korea. NAVER map is really bad should name it Never Map. By the way people in Korea are really not friendly.

Many of the prior reviewers of this app note the shortcomings. For foreigners visiting Korea, the only reason to use this app is the fact that Google maps and Apple Maps are prevented from working properly. Walking directions are not available in those apps so if you are trying to navigate around Korea by foot, you will need to use this app. That being said, I had no issues using the walking directions. The only feature that I would suggest that the developer incorporate is the ability to reroute automatically if I deviate from the suggested route. This is standard in Google maps and Apple Maps. But in this app, one has to stop the current route and calculate a new route manually. As noted in other reviews, this app only has partial English functionality which is frustrating and limits the usefulness of the app. Searching for business names is also a challenge. On occasion, I found that I could not locate a business by name, but if I copied and pasted the Korean name into the app I was able to locate it. Alternatively, I occasionally had to search by address. This is way too much work for this app to be useful. I thought the transit functionality actually worked fairly well. For both buses and subways, I was able to fairly accurately see when the next bus/subway was arriving and while en route, I could see the progress on the app. The app would also send me a notification to get off. The app does impact battery life significantly, so I always carried a power bank as a result. Overall, the app served its purpose, it was disappointing and won’t be used again unless I’m back in Korea as Google Maps and Apple Maps appear to work perfectly well in other Asian countries.

This Korean GPS app is so trash on Apple, they should honestly just remove it. IT IS NOT FOREIGNER FRIENDLY, it’s constantly glitching, and freezing and eats your battery life very aggressively, and it can’t track your location properly….this app is actually so bad, we just gave up and used Google Maps. They need to get better developers for the IPhone platform, if you don’t have a Samsung or LG phone, DO NOT USE THIS APP, there’s a reason why it only had 2 stars, and the fact they are replying and still haven’t done anything shows you they don’t care for Apple products at all. Every time we tried to use this in Gangam region it would glitch and keep asking for feedback and it won’t start the gps direction, so you look like an idiot in the middle of the street just being super frustrated because the app can’t read English nor can it identify properly addresses in Korean.

Iphone 16 keep crashes then doesn’t launch rven though I reinstalled

Good app but only partially translated in english and no selectable language option. For foreigner, it would be better if could display both korean and english names (or other languages like japanese, chinese...). Eventually a pronunciation/sounded transcription would be nice too (directly, mouseover, information icon, or else) You can't save an itinerary (requires login) but can pin it. not sure what is the difference. Didn't see an option to share an itenerary (to link, to calendar...) or copy location name or gps coordinates.

Places I’m trying to save is not showing up on the list…

Dont use this usless map.

Cannot save locations or retain search history or a working NAVER ID, and NAVER will lock ID without prior notice or without meaningful ways to resolve and no costumer service representative to talk to. Incredibly unfriendly for foreigners to use any of their apps while travelling to Korea. I want to like the app but without an ID it is barley function-able. English search function is also very limited and inconsistent.

Horrible interface, lots of bugs.

This app is terrible for public transit. For example, it’ll make it’s too suggestion for a bus route, indicating that you’ll arrive at your destination in half an hour. But there’s no ETA for the bus, and you may actually arrive at your destination far, far later than half an hour.

국내 여행갈 때 정말 유용히 쓰고있어서 좋아하는데요 리뷰 안보인지 꽤됐는데 버그 체크좀요;; 업뎃했는데도 안보이는데요 일해주세요 젭알

Useless

Allow searching using Hangul even when using the English interface. Kakao maps allows this.

This was the best korean map before the update. The app does not allow to switch between Korean and English. 한글 searching does not work in English mode, and the only way to switch to 한글 is the change the default language of the phone. Please allow full 한글 regardless of the phone’s language settings.

Pls put english pls

한국에서는 구글맵이 안되어 앱스토어에서 다운받았습니다 그런데 대중교통이나 도보 등의 다른 기능은 전혀 안되는 듯합니다 불편하네요

아이팟터치에서 대중교통 길찾기만 안됨