Driving in South Korea (5) - What navigation system should you use?

Given my limited proficiency in Korean (to say the least) and the complexity of driving in Korea, I definitely need a good navigation system when I'm behind the wheel. But finding the right GPS has turned out to be easier said than done. I would say it's best to use the  GPS of your car or a Korean application. They're  more accurate and take local specificities into account. For example, in Korea, school zones are extremely protected, and not respecting the speed limit there is severely punished. So much so that some drivers simply avoid them. And Korean GPS systems have an "avoid school zones" option. But using a Korean GPS may also have downsides. Here are my impressions on the different navigation systems I have tried so far.

The GPS of our car (Atlan).  It is probably very satisfactory for a Korean driver. There is a lot of information ( too much, if you ask me, and the different beeps, voice alerts and screen notifications seem to never stop), but updates and startup can be slow.  However, for me, the main problem with that GPS is that EVERYTHING is in Korean, and there is, strangely, no possibility to choose another language.  So I can only use it for trips to places I already know a little. When I'm in entirely new places, the information in Korean doesn't allow me to find my way.

If you rent a car, there is a risk that your GPS will only speak Korean (it happened to us when we traveled to Jeju Island). In this case, using mobile applications can be a solution, but again finding the right one can be a tall order. There is an "Atlan 3D" app, which is supposed to be available in Korean and in English. But Her and I have never found how to switch it to English. So I eventually gave up on Atlan, and like many people, I had the reflex to turn to Google Maps, but the application does not work for car trips in Korea (it is, however, quite reliable for walking or public transportation trips).

Don't even think about using Google Maps for car trips

In fact, in Korea, there are local equivalents to giants like Amazon and Google (the most used search engine and online store here is Naver), and for GPS applications, you don't need Google Maps, since they have a Korean equivalent, Kakao Map.

The Kakao Map application is rather well done and very reliable. I have often used it as a pedestrian, and I tested it in my car without too many problems. But here's the rub: Kakao Map only works on your phone, and it is not compatible with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. To use CarPlay, you'll need Kakao Navi, an app that is similar to Kakao Map, except for one detail: all the menus  are in Korean. It is only once you have entered your destination and made a few choices (answering questions in Korean) that you can start navigation and get instructions in English. I'm not sure I see the logic here. Anyway, this is too complicated for me and I often waste far too much time trying to enter my destination. So I only use Kakao Navi when I'm with Her, and  I have to say it works pretty well. I have noticed two problems though:

 - The application is way too talkative! For instance, it will announce an intersection in 500 meters, then in 400 meters, then in 300 meters, etc. and it can quickly become exasperating.

- It doesn't specify the lane you have to be in. The instructions sound like "in 500 meters, take the overpass", but you don't know whether the overpass in question will be on the left or on the right. This may result in a late change of lane, which is not always easy, as you know if you have read my previous post.
 

Kakao Map on my phone

 

KakaoNavi on Carplay (unfortunately the menus at the top are in Korean)

Apple Maps : this is the app I used the most when I started driving here. The routes are reliable, the application tells you the directions to follow and the lane you have to be in. Still, there are a few small problems:

- it does not show your speed and does not announce fixed speed cameras.

- it has some problems with Korean names. Street names are read with an English or American pronunciation that makes them difficult to recognize. Conversely, some places appear on the map written "phonetically" in the Roman alphabet. This may be a little confusing when you're entering your destination. Let's say I want to go to a place called "Arpina Youth Hostel", the application will not recognize this spelling, nor the Korean spelling. I should type "areupinayuseuhoseutel", a transcription based on the Korean pronunciation of English words (a point that I discussed in this post some time ago).

 

It may be difficult to recognize some names with Apple Maps

Waze : this is the application I use the most in Europe. Unfortunately, it is less reliable here. The suggested routes do not always make sense,  and on two occasions I have found myself in situations where I simply couldn't follow the instructions, as the maneuver was impossible or forbidden. Waze also has a little trouble with Korean names. Sometimes instead of the direction to follow on the screen, all there is is a dot, which doesn't help much. On the other hand, the application shows your speed and speed cameras. For me, it can be enough when you're driving in places that are already a little familiar. When you drive somewhere for the first time, it's better to use another app.

Waze

Sygic : I've heard a lot about this application lately. Since it is compatible with CarPlay, I decided to give it a shot. On the plus side, you can you download the maps you need, so you use less data if your phone plan is not unlimited. However, I quickly spotted a problem: although the maps do seem accurate in Seoul, they are much less detailed in Busan (it can't even find our home address), and even less in smaller cities like Yangsan.

In order to test the application anyway, I managed to register our address as "home", and when we were in Yangsan, I asked Sygic to take us back home. Five minutes after we departed, it made a big mistake  (we were supposed to make a left turn on a straight expressway...). But that was the only one. Also, the application doesn't always specify the direction to follow (which is not the case in the picture below) and just asks you to turn left or right. It can be a little annoying.

Sygic

My intention was also to try T-Map, a Korean application which I've heard is pretty good, but it's entirely in Korean for the moment, so I didn't even venture to test it.


Eureka!

I had given up on finding the perfect app for me and I thought I'd keep using Apple Maps, for lack of any better navigation app, when I unexpectedly heard about Naver Maps, the existence of which had always been hidden from me. In fact, I could have thought of it by myself. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, Naver is the alternative to Google in Korea, so it shouldn't be surprising that they created Naver Maps. But since everyone around me uses Kakao, I never looked any further...Shame on me!

In short, Naver Maps has become my navigation app in Korea. To try it is to love it! Maps can be downloaded, which means less data consumption, almost all menus, maps and instructions are in English, and since it's a Korean product, the maps are detailed and the routes and instructions take local specificities into account. I know which direction to follow and when to change lanes, speed cameras are  shown, and my speed as well. To top it all off, it is not too talkative, and you don't feel like you're being scolded when you don't follow the suggested route (unlike Kakao Navi whose "You have veered off course!" sounds quite aggravated). True, some of  the English expressions used are uncommon (it says "left side" instead of "turn left", for instance) and I must admit that the application froze for about thirty seconds once. To be honest, a lot of users criticize this app on Apple's App Store. But for me, it's the best one by far.

To use it, you'll need to create a (free) Naver account and, of course, this has to be done in Korean, but once you've registered and set up everything with the help of a Korean speaker, you'll be good to go!

Naver maps

That's a little small but at least you know which lane you have to be in.

The app once froze after a U-turn. Everything was back in order after 30 seconds.

After several months, I have finally found the application that works well for me! It will certainly not prevent all mistakes and impossible lane changes, but it will greatly simplify my driving life.

That's pretty much all I had to say about navigation. But, believe it or not, I'm not done yet! There are a few more things that I want to share in my next post, and then you will know everything you need to enjoy driving in Korea!