Korean address format: how to read and write an address in Korea

How do you write a Korean address?

Write a Korean address in English from smallest unit to largest: unit (dong and ho), building number, road name, district, city, postal code, then "Rep. of Korea". For example: 1403-ho, 209 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03171. In Korean the order reverses, starting with the city and ending with the unit.

Here is the same address both ways, using an office example from the government's road-name address portal. We confirmed the building's English form and postal code with the portal's English search on November 7, 2026.

The Korean order is set by law. Article 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Name Address Act (version in force from January 2, 2026) lists it as province or metropolitan city, then city, county or district, then road name, building number, detailed address, and an optional note in brackets.

What does each part of a Korean address mean?

Each part narrows the location: city, district, road, building, then the unit inside it. The two terms that confuse most newcomers are dong and ho, because dong has two meanings.

Side roads are named after the main road they branch from. On the portal's sign example, Daejeong-ro 23beon-gil is a road that branches off about 230 metres from the start of Daejeong-ro. That is why you will see addresses like 18 Simin-ro 5beon-gil: 18 is the building and the rest is one road name.

What is the difference between road-name and lot-number addresses?

A road-name address (도로명주소, doromyeong juso) locates a building by road and building number. A lot-number address (지번 주소, jibeon juso) identifies a parcel of land by neighbourhood and lot, and you will still meet it on property paperwork.

The portal describes the road-name system as building-centred and used for showing an address, and the lot number as land-centred and used for land management and marking property. Road-name addresses took effect on January 1, 2014, but the Institute for Basic Science's guide for its foreign staff notes that the older form is still widely used.

So keep both for your home. Use the road-name form for post and everyday forms. Keep the lot number for the lease and the registry, because Easy Law, the government's plain-language legal guide, tells tenants to check that the registry's lot number matches the home they are renting.

How do you write an apartment address in English?

Put the dong and ho first, then the building number and road name, district and city. The portal accepts a spelled-out form and a short form, and it says the apartment name can be left out.

These are the portal's own patterns as of November 2026:

A few details trip people up:

• Spacing in Korean. Road names are written as one word (국회대로62길), with a space before the building number. A comma separates the building number from the dong, floor or ho.
• The comma in English. The portal writes 109 Gangnam-daero, while Korea Post's example is 33, Beobwonbuk-ro. The difference doesn't change the address, so match whichever form you are filling in.
• Apartment name in English. If you need it, the portal puts it in brackets at the very front, before the unit.
• English road words. The portal allows Blvd., St. or Rd. to be added alongside the romanised name where needed, but -daero, -ro and -gil are the standard.

How do you find your address and postal code?

Search your road name and building number on the juso.go.kr English page. It accepts Korean or English and returns the English road-name address, the lot-number form and the postal code.

When we searched "Sejong-daero 209" on November 7, 2026, the portal also returned a second result in Sejong City, so check the district before you copy anything. The results stop at building level, so the portal won't confirm your dong or ho. Your lease and the registry are where those come from. ePOST, Korea Post's site, has its own English postal code search.

Korean postal codes have had five digits since August 1, 2015. According to ePOST, the first three digits identify the city, county or district and the last two are a serial number. Seoul codes begin with 01 to 09, and Jongno-gu uses 030 to 032. A code covers an area bounded by features such as roads and rivers, not a single building, so neighbours may share yours and an old six-digit code from a previous tenant's paperwork should be replaced.

Which version of your address should you use, and where?

Use Korean for Korean paperwork, the English road-name form for anything from abroad, and the registry's wording wherever your deposit is involved.

Why can a wrong unit number put your deposit at risk?

Because a tenant's legal protection depends on an address record that others can rely on. Korean courts have refused protection where the reported unit didn't match the registry, even when the tenant really lived there.

Under Article 3 of the Housing Lease Protection Act, a tenant who has moved in and registered gains protection against third parties from the next day. For foreigners, Article 88-2 of the Immigration Act makes the address report count as that registration. Easy Law's deposit guide lists the cases where that went wrong:

Building type changes the rule. A Supreme Court publication explains that a 다가구 (dagagu, multi-household house) counts as a single detached house, so the lot number alone can be enough, while each unit in a 다세대 (dasedae, multi-unit villa) has its own registry entry and needs the exact dong and ho. It isn't always obvious from the street: in case 2001다80204 a house and villa units shared one lot, and the house's tenant still needed the recorded dong and ho. Our guide to housing types covers how those buildings differ. Writing the full unit details is the cautious habit either way.

What should you check before filing your address report?

Registered foreigners must report a new address within 15 days of moving in, under Article 36 of the Immigration Act (version in force from October 2, 2026). Check these details first, because the report is what counts for your deposit.

• The registry's lot number matches your lease.
• The registry's dong and ho match your lease, even if the door says something else.
• The juso.go.kr result shows your building under the same lot number as the registry.
• You have your residence card, since the Act says it must be presented so the office can write the new address on it.
• You have your original lease, if you want the fixed date (확정일자, hwakjeong ilja) at the same visit. Easy Law lists the fee as ₩600 as of November 2026.
• After filing, you read the address written on your card before you leave the counter.

You may also see 14 days quoted. Easy Law gives that as the deadline under the Resident Registration Act, which covers Korean households. The 15-day rule above is the one in the Immigration Act for registered foreigners. For the wider timeline, see our first-90-days checklist and how the fixed date fits into the rental process.

What if your one-room has no unit in its official address?

You can ask for a detailed address (상세주소, sangse juso). It is a recorded dong, floor or ho for rented buildings such as one-rooms and multi-household houses, and tenants can apply themselves.

According to the portal, a tenant can apply straight away if the owner agrees. If the owner has been asked and doesn't apply, the tenant can apply directly after 14 days. Applications go online through the government's civil-petition service, or by post or in person to the district office, with the application form, a floor plan and proof that you are the tenant. The portal gives accurate mail delivery and faster emergency response as the reasons for having one. It is an address record, so we suggest still treating the registry as the reference for your lease.

Where can you get help with this?

Seoul Housing Help is an independent bilingual service in Seoul that books viewings and interprets with Korean realtors and landlords; licensed agents handle the brokerage. Our Complete Relocation package includes address registration guidance, and on-site help through Landlord & Move-In Help is ₩70,000 an hour with a two-hour minimum. We interpret and explain, but questions about whether a report protects your deposit belong with a lawyer. Prices and scope are on our pricing page.

Sources (read November 7, 2026): Enforcement Decree of the Road Name Address Act Article 6, and Immigration Act Articles 36 and 88-2 (law.go.kr); road-name address portal, format guide and English search (juso.go.kr); Easy Law guides on the property registry, deposit protection and moving reports (easylaw.go.kr); Supreme Court publication of March 23, 2017 on dong and ho errors (scourt.go.kr); Supreme Court decisions 2001다80204 and 2006다17850 (law.go.kr); Korea Post English pages on addressing and EMS labels (koreapost.go.kr); ePOST postal code pages (epost.go.kr); Korea Policy Briefing on the 2015 postal code change (korea.kr); Institute for Basic Science living guide (centers.ibs.re.kr). — This guide is general information, not legal advice. Seoul Housing Help is not a real-estate agency or law firm; licensed agents handle brokerage and a lawyer can advise on your contract.

Frequently asked questions

What is the format of a Korean address in English?

From smallest to largest: unit, building number, road name, district, city, postal code, country. For example: 1403-ho, 209 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03171 Rep. of KOREA. Korea Post asks senders abroad to put Rep. of Korea at the bottom of the address.

What do dong and ho mean in a Korean address?

In an apartment address, dong (동) is the building within a complex and ho (호) is the unit, so 705-dong 1104-ho is unit 1104 in building 705. The word dong also names a neighbourhood, such as Yeouido-dong, written in brackets at the end of a Korean address.

Should I use the road-name or the lot-number address?

Use the road-name address for mail and everyday forms: it is the system the government portal presents as the address format. Keep the lot number too. Easy Law tells tenants to check the lot number on the property registry, and its deposit-protection rulings turn on that number.

How many digits is a Korean postal code?

Five. Korea moved from six digits to five on August 1, 2015. The first three digits identify the city, county or district, and the last two are a serial number within it. Seoul codes begin with 01 to 09. You can look yours up on the juso.go.kr English page or ePOST.

What address do I put on my moving report in Korea?

Use the exact lot number, dong and ho shown on the property registry, not the number on your door. Easy Law warns that a tenant in a multi-unit building who reports only the door number, or leaves out dong and ho, may not get Housing Lease Protection Act protection.