Kakao Map Registration for Foreign Businesses in Korea

Foreign brands tend to fix Google Business Profile, then stop. In Korea, that leaves the two maps locals actually open untouched.

This guide covers what Kakao Map registration needs, where a foreign team gets stuck, and how it fits with Naver Place.

One honest note up front: Kakao's registration screens are in Korean and change often. We explain the requirements and the logic, not a pixel-by-pixel click path that could be out of date next month.

What is Kakao Map, and does a foreign business need it?

Kakao Map is Kakao's map and local-search app, and if your business has a physical or contactable Korean presence, you need a listing there. It's the second-largest map app in the country.

As of January 2026, Naver Map had 28.8 million monthly active users, Kakao Map 12.6 million and Google Maps 9.98 million, according to The Korea Times.

That's a smaller audience than Naver's, but still more than 12 million people searching for places to visit, call or navigate to.

Kakao Map also sits inside the wider Kakao ecosystem, including KakaoTalk, which is where Korean consumers message businesses. A listing there is a trust signal, not just a pin.

If you only sell online with no Korean address or phone, a map listing may not apply to you. Focus on marketplaces and Naver search first, as covered in our Korea market-entry playbook.

What do you need before you register on Kakao Map?

You need a Korean address, a Korean phone number that customers can reach, and business details that match your registration. Registration depends on those basics being real and consistent.

Foreign teams usually stall on four items:

1. A Korean business registration (사업자등록) — or a local partner or branch whose details you can legitimately list.
2. A Korean-format address — including the postal code and building detail.
3. A local phone number — ideally a landline or a number that rings in Korea.
4. A Kakao account — signing in typically involves a Korean-language flow, and sometimes a Korean mobile number.

Kakao's own business tools sit under Kakao Business, and the company describes its map product on its corporate site. Check those for the current owner-verification steps before you start.

How do you register your business on Kakao Map?

You claim or create your place through Kakao's business-owner tools, submit your details, and complete whatever ownership verification Kakao asks for. The sequence is consistent even when the screens change.

Search for your business on Kakao Map first. Many Korean places already exist as auto-generated entries, and claiming one beats creating a duplicate.

Duplicates split reviews and confuse customers. If a place already exists with wrong details, correct it rather than adding a second one.

Then complete the profile: name, category, address, phone, hours, photos and a short description. Fill every field you can. A sparse profile looks abandoned.

If a step requires a Korean mobile number or ID you don't have, that's the point to bring in a local partner. Don't try workarounds that misstate who owns the business.

How should you keep your name, address and phone consistent?

Use one exact version of your business name, address and phone number (NAP) everywhere, in Korean first. Consistency is how map platforms and search engines decide two listings are the same place.

Pick a canonical Korean name and a canonical English name. Use them identically on Kakao Map, Naver Place, your website and your social profiles.

Format the address the way Korean postal convention does, not a translated approximation. Small variations, like different building names or missing floor numbers, create mismatches.

The same logic applies to every directory you appear in. We cover it in depth in our guide to Korean local citations.

Write the NAP once in a spreadsheet and copy from it. Retyping from memory is how "Gangnam-daero 123" becomes "Gangnam-ro 123" on one platform.

What photos, hours and details make a listing work?

Complete, current information makes a listing useful: accurate hours, a correct category, real photos and a working phone number. Shoppers use the listing to decide whether to visit.

Prioritize in this order:

• Hours — including holidays. Korean holidays like Chuseok shift trading patterns, so update them.
• Category — choose the most specific one that fits, not the broadest.
• Photos — storefront, entrance, interior and product. Use your own images.
• Description — plain Korean, with an English line if foreign customers are a target.
• Contact — a number staff actually answer.

Add reviews to your routine, not your launch checklist. Reply politely, in Korean where you can, and never buy or fake reviews. Platforms penalize it and customers spot it.

Kakao Map vs Naver Map: where should you spend your time?

Spend most of your time on Naver Place and enough on Kakao Map to keep it complete and accurate. Naver's audience is more than double Kakao's, per the Korea Times figures above.

Naver Place also ties into Naver Search results, which is where most Korean discovery starts. For that reason, get Naver right before you polish Kakao.

If you use KakaoTalk for customer contact, the two work together. See our guide to KakaoTalk marketing in Korea.

The foreign brand's usual error is the reverse: spending weeks perfecting one map and ignoring the rest. Both take an afternoon once your NAP sheet exists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreign company register on Kakao Map?

Yes, if it has a Korean address, a reachable Korean phone number and business details that match a registered entity or local partner. A business with no Korean presence generally has nothing to list. Check Kakao's current requirements in its Korean-language flow before you begin.

Do I need a Korean phone number for Kakao Map?

Customers need a number that works in Korea, and Kakao's sign-in and verification steps may ask for Korean contact details. Plan on a local number or a partner who can receive verification messages. Confirm the current requirement in the live registration flow.

Is Kakao Map more important than Naver Map?

No. Naver Map had 28.8 million monthly users in January 2026 against Kakao Map's 12.6 million, per The Korea Times. Prioritize Naver Place, then keep Kakao Map accurate. Kakao matters most when your customers also use KakaoTalk.

Should I claim an existing Kakao listing or create a new one?

Claim an existing one when it matches your business. Duplicates split reviews and create conflicting details. Create a new entry only if none exists, and correct any wrong information on a listing you take over.

How long does Kakao Map registration take?

It depends on your documents and whether Kakao needs extra ownership checks, so we can't give a reliable number. Prepare your address, phone and business details first, and expect the Korean-language verification to be the slow part.

Does a Kakao Map listing help with search?

A complete, consistent listing makes your business easier to find and trust on a map used by over 12 million people monthly. It supports, rather than replaces, Naver visibility. It won't rank a thin business on its own.

Want to know whether your Korean listings are consistent and complete? Request a free audit and we'll check where you stand.

Last updated: October 2026