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You Can Tell the Distance Just by Looking at the Numbers in a Road Name Address

You Can Tell the Distance Just by Looking at the Numbers in a Road Name Address
You Can Tell the Distance Just by Looking at the Numbers in a Road Name Address

Many people assume the number attached to an address is simply a sequence number.

As in, the first building is No. 1, the next is No. 2.

That is not the case. The number is a distance.

3-line summary
1. Building numbers in road name addresses indicate distance.
2. No. 57 is about 570m from the starting point.
3. Lot numbers have not been abolished; they serve a different purpose.

Coordinates are built into an address

A road name address is structured as follows.

Administrative district + road name + building number + detailed address

The road name itself carries information. Roads are divided into three types according to their width.

NameStandard
Daero8 lanes or more
Ro2~7 lanes
GilOther roads

So if “○○daero” appears in an address, it means the location is on a major road, while “○○gil” indicates an inner alley. You can make a rough guess without even going there.

The building number takes this a step further. Numbers are assigned every 20m from the point where the road begins, with odd numbers on the left and even numbers on the right.

Looking at one side alone, the number increases by 2 every 20m, so multiplying the number by 10m gives the distance from the starting point.

No. 57 is about 570m away. No. 3 is roughly 30m from the starting point.

Whose left and right are we talking about?

If the odd and even numbers appear reversed, it is because of the direction.

The reference is not the direction a pedestrian is walking, but the direction facing from the start of the road toward its end. If you walk in the opposite direction, odd numbers appear on the right.

If you are moving in the direction in which the numbers decrease, it means you are heading back toward the starting point. Knowing just this can reduce the time you spend getting lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

Why have lot numbers not disappeared?

Road name addresses were officially announced nationwide in 2011 and, after an adjustment period, were fully implemented from January 1, 2014.

Yet lot numbers remain. It is not that they could not be eliminated; they do different jobs.

Road name addresses identify locations. They tell you roughly where a place is along a road.

Lot numbers identify land. They indicate which parcel of land it is. That is why lot numbers continue to be used in real estate registrations and land-related documents.

It is easier to understand if you think of a building spanning multiple parcels, or multiple buildings standing on one parcel. The two systems count different things from the outset.

The reason lot numbers were weak for finding directions also follows from this nature. Lot numbers were assigned in the order land was divided, so there is no rule that adjacent lot numbers must be next to each other. Whenever land was subdivided or merged, numbers split, making it common for lot No. 55—not No. 124—to sit next to lot No. 123.

This is why the road name address system emphasizes the rule of 20m intervals. If distance, rather than sequence, is used as the standard, the numbers do not become tangled.

What local governments are improving these days

There are also several types of address-information facilities: road name signs, building number signs, basic number signs, object address signs, and local guide signs.

Local governments are improving them. Goyang City said it installed 231 new road name signs, mainly on major roads and at intersections, bringing the total in the city to 1만905. Gunpo City conducted a full survey of 1만1815 facilities across the five types, then reinstalled 163 that had been lost or damaged.

That may seem like considerable effort for sign maintenance, but the reason is not limited to deliveries or navigation. These signs are the basis firefighters and police use to confirm a location when responding.

What to do when you move

Submitting a move-in notification is the starting point. Once you do this, other things follow.

Mail forwarding service for a change of residence. This service forwards mail sent to your old address to your new address. You can apply for it together when submitting your move-in notification at a community service center or through Government24, and it is also available through the post office.

For cars, check the type of license plate. With a nationwide license plate, submitting a move-in notification is enough. If you have a regional license plate containing a jurisdiction code and move to another city/province, you must separately register the change.

If you are eligible for a fee reduction, it can be processed together by consenting to the integrated application on the move-in notification screen.

There is one point that is easy to confuse here. “Bulk address correction” is not for moving. It is a system for correcting addresses across multiple documents at once when the road name or building number itself changes or is eliminated. It cannot be used when your address changes because you moved.

An address may seem like information to memorize, but it is actually information to read. The road name contains its width, and the number contains its distance.

Even if you receive only an address in an unfamiliar neighborhood, you already know half of what you need before you go.

References