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Naver Map's ‘Be Local’ campaign helps foreign nationals discover Seoul

Published: 14 Apr. 2025, 12:46 Updated: 14 Apr. 2025, 14:38

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

A poster for the ″Be Local″ campaign launched by Naver Map [NAVER]

Naver kicked off a new online campaign on Naver Map to cater to foreign nationals looking for the trendiest spots to visit in Korea.

The “Be Local” campaign started Monday and will be held for one month until May 13 for users who have set the language of the Naver Map app to a foreign language.

Naver will introduce popular restaurants, cafes, fashion-related and complex cultural spaces among Korea's so-called MZ generation — millennials and Gen Zers — in popular tourist areas such as Myeong-dong, Seongsu, Itaewon and Hannam-dong through the “Be Local” campaign.

Users can click on the “Be Local” tab in Naver Map, and can see at a glance the most recently saved food, attractions and entertainment spots by Korean users in their 20s and 30s.

Promotions in collaboration with fashion, cosmetics and lifestyle brands preferred by foreign tourists visiting Korea will also be held, providing discount coupons that can be used at brand stores such as Olive Young, Innisfree, Musinsa, and SK Telecom through the Naver Map app.

A poster for the ″Be Local″ campaign launched by Naver Map [NAVER]

Starting next month, users can also receive limited-edition “Be Local” campaign products when they visit partner stores after downloading the Naver Map app.

Naver Map is the most used app when traveling in Korea, according to aggregators such as MobileIndex.

Since the launch of the multilingual version in 2018, Naver Map has been strengthening its functions for foreign users. From Korean text reviews using Papago’s AI translation technology to place filters that search for stores that match users’ taste, everything is translated into English, Chinese and Japanese.

The Naver Pay service will also be improved within the first half of this year to allow foreign users to make reservations, orders and payments on Naver more conveniently, according to Naver.

A promotional image for the ″Be Local″ campaign launched by Naver Map [NAVER]

“Naver Map understands Korea’s latest trends the best based on the country’s largest location information and vivid visitor reviews,” said Lee Sang-chul, head of place business at Naver.

“With the multilingual version of Naver Map, we will support foreign users to conveniently travel around Korea and experience Korean culture and trends more richly.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]