Kakaomap is the leading map used in Korea. It focuses on helping people finding places, restaurants and connecting you with friends through Kakaotalk. Its tagline is to help you find the fastest navigation.

During my trip to Korea last spring, I primarily relied on KakaoMap for navigation. While it served its purpose, I found the app’s interface to be less intuitive and structured differently than most map applications. This experience inspired me to focus on enhancing its functionality to better accommodate the needs of foreign users

The app is primarily designed for a Korean audience, with some English translations for restaurants and streets, but most content is in Korean. This raises concerns about how well non-Korean speakers can navigate the app. To make it more accessible for foreign users, I would focus on adding multiple language options, ensuring a more seamless experience for a global audience.

I looked up on Google Play and App Store reviews to see if other users are having the same issue as me. I noticed recurring patterns and issues that it is not foreign friendly, has bad IA structure, and constantly crashes. Taken from real users.

I reviewed Kakaomap's shortcomings and identified key issues I plan to redesign.

Unfortunately, Google Maps and Apple Maps do not work well in Korea. They only function for certain features, like bus and train routes, but even then, they are not very accurate. The only other option is the Naver app, which faces similar challenges as Kakao in being less foreign-friendly. However, its interface is much cleaner and easier to use.

Coming Soon!