Finding Your Way

In the West, we're used to a "grid" style city layout, with street numbers assigned to buildings in geographical order (such as odd numbers on left, even numbers on right, in ascending order as you travel north). We expect to see street signs on every corner, with building numbers clearly marked.

Seoul is not laid out in this fashion at all! Except for major arteries, street signs are pretty much absent, as are building numbers. Furthermore, these numbers are not assigned in any particular sequence. For example, on one street, the numbers are 523, 549, 512, 484, and 461 on the left side; with 359, 398, 413, and 389 on the right.

How do you find an address in Seoul, then? For most major landmarks, you just give the name and someone at the hotel can tell you how to get there. Taxi drivers, of course, know all the major landmarks and tourist sites. For the more obscure addresses:

• If you've never been to a place before, you phone and get directions, or have someone who speaks Korean get the directions.
• Once you've been there, pick up a business card, many of which have maps on them.
• Finally, if you read Korean and are seriously interested in finding your way on your own, go to a major bookstore such as the Kyo-bo book center and buy a map book which shows street names and numbers. These books, which cost about 12,000 won, show traffic information (one-way streets, parking areas, etc) as well. They are definitely not for the casual tourist who does not read Korean!

Taxi