Not to be outdone by Google Maps incorporating more accurate Korean local data into their massively international map app, Naver Map is now adding a "World Map" feature in its Labs section.
According to industry sources Monday, the Naver Maps app added a world map function to its "Lab" section in mid-August. When users activate the feature in the Lab menu, they can access basic geographic information for regions outside Korea, including Japan, the United States and Europe.
The world map feature currently provides basic geographic and location data such as roads and place names in overseas regions. Naver said it is offering the service based on open-source data and is gauging user response. "We have released the world map feature in the Lab based on open-source data," a Naver official said.
This preview is interesting since, until now, Naver Map really only showed Korea (and parts of Japan if not all). Koreans themselves had to switch to Google Maps when going abroad. But now it looks like Naver wants them to stick to the app interface they are already familiar with and just use Naver Map.
Here is some sample imagery of Naver Maps app showing non-Korea locations. I just grabbed these from around the web since I'm at work and don't want to be noticed screenshotting my own phone over and over.
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| Image: ZDNetKorea |
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| Image: News1 |
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| Images: arca.live |
The sample imagery makes it obviously clear that this non-Korea world map data is coming from Open Street Map (OSM).
That's nice since it will draw more attention to OSM. I've been playing with Organic Maps (a great drop-in replacement for Google Maps for directions and navigation that relies on OSM for mapping data) and even here in Korea it works pretty well. The navigation directions are simple and straightforward enough that I would feel comfortable recommending it to any visitors who are planning to drive and want a familiar interface without relying on Naver. In my local area a little south of Seoul I didn't have any big issues with its turn by turn directions when I've tried it.
That being said there are some other things to consider:
- Biggest caveat: OSM, like Apple Maps in my experience, is not always up to date or familiar with specific road rules so sometimes suggests making turns that are not allowed at certain intersections. Not a huge problem necessarily; just follow traffic lights and let the app reroute if necessary. Just be aware.
- Being based on user-submitted OSM data, some places do not yet have multilingual names yet. For example, some branches of LotteMart can be found searching "Lotte Mart", some as "LotteMart", and others as just "롯데마트". Of course if you spot this, you can edit OSM yourself to help the community.
- Some real world location data isn't yet updated. Perfect example: near my home there is a new Lotteria and Mega Coffee (doesn't that really narrow it down for you) and while they both appear on Naver Map and Kakao Map, OSM still shows it as an empty agricultural field. Technically I guess I should update the map with my local knowledge but just using this as an example, as a community driven project there is room for improvement.
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| Naver Map showing main hiking trail on Munsoosan |
Same spot on Open Street Map:
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