A hyphen before administrative units
Chapter 3, Article 5 states that the administrative units '도, 시, 군, 구, 읍, 면, 리, 동' and '가' are written 'do, si, gun, gu, eup, myeon, ri, dong, ga' respectively, with a hyphen (-) before them. Sound changes occurring across the hyphen are not reflected. (Roughly: do = province, si = city, gun = county, gu = district, eup = town, myeon = township, ri = village, dong = neighborhood, ga = street section.)
| Hangul | Roman |
|---|---|
| 충청북도 | Chungcheongbuk-do |
| 제주도 | Jeju-do |
| 의정부시 | Uijeongbu-si |
| 양주군 | Yangju-gun |
| 도봉구 | Dobong-gu |
| 신창읍 | Sinchang-eup |
| 삼죽면 | Samjuk-myeon |
| 인왕리 | Inwang-ri |
| 당산동 | Dangsan-dong |
| 봉천 1동 | Bongcheon 1(il)-dong |
| 종로 2가 | Jongno 2(i)-ga |
| 퇴계로 3가 | Toegyero 3(sam)-ga |
Note that 충청북도 is Chungcheongbuk-do. The name runs up to 충청북, not 북도, and 도 is the unit. And because sound changes across the hyphen are not reflected, 삼죽면 is Samjuk-myeon even though it is pronounced [삼중면].
For a numbered dong or ga, write the Arabic numeral as is and put the Sino-Korean number in romanization in parentheses: 1(il)-dong, 2(i)-ga, 3(sam)-ga. The converter's Address mode splits the input into this format even if you type it joined, as in 봉천1동.
si, gun and eup may be omitted
The Note states that the administrative units 'si, gun, eup' may be omitted. 청주시 Cheongju, 함평군 Hampyeong, 순창읍 Sunchang. This is what you see on road signs that show only the city name. There is no omission rule for do, gu or dong, so they are written in full.
Special cities and metropolitan cities
The regulation does not specifically cover 특별시 (special city) or 광역시 (metropolitan city), but by the same principle they can be written with a hyphen before the unit, as in Seoul-teukbyeolsi and Busan-gwangyeoksi. In actual English addresses, just the city name, such as Seoul or Busan, is used almost always. Turning on the converter's 'English address order' option drops the special city, metropolitan city, special self-governing city and special self-governing province units and keeps only the city name.
Road-name addresses in English
For the road-name addresses in use since 2014, the style widely used on signs and in address guidance puts a hyphen before the ending 대로·로·길 (daero = boulevard, ro = road, gil = street), as in Sejong-daero, Teheran-ro, Insadong-gil. A numbered gil is written like 94-gil, and a beon-gil like 123beon-gil.
- 강남대로94길 → Gangnam-daero 94-gil
- 중앙로123번길 → Jungang-ro 123beon-gil
In this style, the road name 종로 also becomes Jong-ro. Yet the example in Article 5 of the romanization rules writes 종로 2가 as Jongno 2(i)-ga. This is because different standards apply when 종로 is used as a road name and when it is part of a legal dong name (종로1가 to 6가). The converter treats 종로 as a legal dong and writes Jongno when a ga unit such as 2가 follows; otherwise it writes Jong-ro, depending on the 'Road-name hyphen' option. With the option off, it follows the regulation text (Jongno, Toegyero).
English addresses start with the smallest unit
Addresses in English are written in the order building number → road → district → city.
- Korean: 서울특별시 종로구 세종대로 209
- English: 209 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul
The converter's 'English address order' option reverses the order of the parts and moves the building number from after the road name to before it, producing the form above. Add the postal code and the country name (Republic of Korea) at the end as needed.
Natural features, cultural properties and man-made structures without hyphens
Article 6 states that names of natural features, cultural properties and man-made structures are written as one word, without a hyphen (-). This covers the names of mountains, rivers, islands, palaces, temples and bridges.
- 남산 Namsan, 속리산 Songnisan, 금강 Geumgang, 독도 Dokdo
- 경복궁 Gyeongbokgung, 불국사 Bulguksa, 독립문 Dongnimmun, 다보탑 Dabotap
The 도 in 독도 means "island", not an administrative unit, so it is Dokdo, not Dok-do. 제주도 can be written Jeju-do for the administrative unit (a special self-governing province) and Jejudo for the island. The converter's Address mode treats well-known place names that are not administrative units, such as 독도, 여의도 and 울릉도, as exceptions. To convert a place name or cultural property, use 'General' mode, which writes it as one word without a hyphen.
Basis: Romanization of Korean, Chapter 3, Articles 5 and 6. English road-name address style refers to the road-name address information site and road sign practice. Checked 2026-09-23.