Google Maps is filling a gap in its operations by working on bringing turn-by-turn navigation to Korea.
Reported by The Korea Herald, Google has recruited a new “Strategic Partnerships Development Manager” who will be working with the Google Maps team to bring full service to South Korea. This includes working with private companies and public entities to get things up and running.
While Google Maps works in South Korea, it only serves as a hub for locations, reviews, and directions for public transit. Turn-by-turn navigation, the functionality that makes Google Maps so popular across the world, is simply not available in the country as of today. That also results in Maps having fewer users in the country, with local options Naver Map and Kakao Map having as many as 3x more users than Google’s app.
Google, in a brief statement, says that will change:
The plan is to bring full-functioning Google Maps capabilities to Korea, which includes turn-by-turn directions…
This comes after the South Korean government approved Google’s ability to use high-precision map data on overseas servers earlier this year, with the condition that military and similar sensitive facilities are blurred. Latitude and longitude coordinates will also be disabled in the country, Reuters notes.
Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:
Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.
