Key facts
- Kakao Map is displaying detailed information on North Korean locations.
- Visible locations include universities and train stations in Pyongyang.
- Naver Map shows only major geographical features in North Korea.
- Kakao uses data from the National Geographic Information Institute.
- Naver Map is based on OpenStreetMap.
Kakao Map, a mobile map service operated by South Korea's Kakao Corp., has recently garnered significant online attention for its detailed display of various locations within North Korea. Unlike its competitor Naver Map, which provides only broad geographical features for the North, Kakao Map shows specific sites such as Kim Il Sung University and Pyongyang University of Education, along with individual train stations.
Naver Map's limited detail is attributed to its reliance on OpenStreetMap, a globally crowdsourced map. In contrast, Kakao Map utilizes geographic data from South Korea's state-backed National Geographic Information Institute. Both companies have stated that while direct searches for locations within North Korea are restricted, users can still view these details by manually navigating the map to the region.