Getting Around

About Romaization

An important thing to remember when reading maps and street signs in Korea is that there is often more than one correct way to spell a place in Roman letters.  This happens because the sounds of Korean don't match the sounds of English exactly, so some "give" has worked it way into changing from one alphabet to another.

For example, Taegu and Daegu are the same place, as well as Kangnam and Gangnam and Pusan and Busan.  Apgujeong can be Apkugeong, and Chamshil is usually Jamsil on maps.  Both spellings are correct.  To be totally fair, both spellings are equally "off" the real Korean pronunciation.  A little mental flexibility and figuring it out becomes pretty easy. 

If you're planning to spend any real time in South Korea, your best bet is to learn the hangeul alphabet.  Its a simple straightforeward phonetic alphabet and with a little practice you can know the "real" spellings.

Commonly exchangable letters include...
g~k
s~sh
j~ch
b~v
f~p
r~l
b~p