How to Write a Korean Address in English

If you shop on Amazon, AliExpress, or send a parcel to Korea, you need the Korean address written in English. The tricky part is that Korean and English addresses are written in opposite order.

Smallest unit first

A Korean address goes from the largest unit (province/city) to the smallest. In English, you write the smallest unit (building number) first. For example, 서울특별시 중구 세종대로 110 becomes 110 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, 04524, Republic of Korea.

Apartment and unit numbers

Put the unit details at the very front. 101동 1001호 → Apt 101-1001. So the full address is Apt 101-1001, 110 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, 04524, Republic of Korea.

Postal code and country

Always include the 5-digit postal code and Republic of Korea (or South Korea). The postal code is essential for customs and delivery sorting.

Region names

Provinces use -do (Gyeonggi-do), cities use -si, districts use -gu. Metropolitan cities use only the city name (Seoul). When unsure, the region name table lists the official English spelling.

The fastest way

Instead of memorizing the rules, type the Korean address into the converter and copy the official English result, complete with postal code and shopping-site field mapping.

→ Convert your address now

Two worked examples

An apartment. The Korean "서울특별시 강남구 테헤란로 152, 101동 1502호" becomes Apt 101-1502, 152 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06236, South Korea. Flip to smallest-first, join the building and unit numbers with a hyphen, and put the building number in front of the road name.

A house. "전주시 덕진구 세병로 175" becomes 175 Sebyeong-ro, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do 54896, South Korea. No unit details? Leave that part out — padding the line helps nobody.

Never translate -ro, -gil, or -gu

The endings -ro (road), -gil (street), and -daero (boulevard) are part of the proper name. "Teheran Road" looks natural in English but fails to match anything in the Korean delivery system; the parcel then depends on a human guessing. The same goes for districts: write Gangnam-gu, not Gangnam District.

Skip the dong, keep the ZIP

Neighborhood names from the old lot-number system (like Yeoksam-dong) are unnecessary in a road-name address — the road name plus the 5-digit postal code already pin the location. And only the 5-digit code is valid; the hyphenated 6-digit format was retired years ago and trips validation on foreign checkouts.