Car Navigation Map Available in English

By Cho Jin-seo

Staff Reporter

Driving through a web of streets with unhelpful road signs will become less painful for foreigners in Seoul thanks to the completion of an English-language navigation map.

Citus, a company which draws digital maps for car navigation, will start to sell its English map in June to navigation device manufacturers to serve foreigners living in or visiting South Korea.

The ``Rousen'' brand map will be the first bilingual car navigation in South Korea, the firm said. Some 3,600 names of buildings and other navigation points on the map were translated into English in accordance with the government's Romanization rules, it said.

``We don't expect big demand for this. But we believe this is a niche market,'' said Choo Jin-su, a spokeswoman for the company. ``We will continue to update the map twice a month, no matter how many people use it.''

The ``Rousen'' map will be put into car navigation products from some 30 makers, including Digital Cube and Kohjinsha Korea. It has yet to be decided whether the hardware makers will provide the English version as a free upgrade, or sell it in a separate package, Choo said.

In addition, Chinese and Japanese-language maps are also underway, she said.

Citus hopes that the multi-language map will be a stepping stone to make inroads into foreign markets, especially in China. The firm plans to release Korean, English and Japanese versions of its China map next month, just ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

``It is expected to be very popular in Japanese and English-speaking countries, as well as among people planning to travel in China and Korean residents already there,'' the spokeswoman said.

As for the map of Korea, the firm said it is looking for partners who can buy the product in large quantities.

``We plan to publicize the Rousen multi-language version through taxis, rental cars and online communities most commonly frequented by foreigners,'' CEO Lee Jun-Pyo said in a statement. Choo said that the company is talking with various tourism-related government offices as well.

indizio@koreatimes.co.kr