Short answer
If you've been to Korea more than once, a country-level scratch map can't tell your trips apart: Korea is just one box ticked. TapSeoul's My Korea map divides the country into 17 travel regions and 210 real-shaped districts, cities and counties. You fill in the places you've been, by hand, from your photos' location data, or with a one-time location check, then tap any place to see when you were there and share the finished map as an image.
Quick facts
- Map pieces
- 210 real-shaped areas in 17 travel regions
- Seoul, Busan, Incheon
- By district (25, 16 and 11)
- Rest of Korea
- By city or county
- Ways to add a place
- By hand, from photos, or “I’m here now”
- Visit details
- Dates of each visit and overnight stays
- Account needed
- No; your map stays on your phone
Why keep a map just for Korea?
Many travel map apps work at the country level. That is great for counting countries, but much less useful once you start coming back to the same one. On a second or third trip to Korea, people tend to go further: a day in Suwon, a weekend in Busan, a few nights on Jeju, a temple stay in the mountains. A map that only says "Korea: visited" hides all of that.
A map split into real districts, cities and counties shows how your trips add up. You can see at a glance that you know Seoul's center well but have never crossed to the east side, or that you have been to Busan twice but only ever to Haeundae. It also turns "where should we go next time?" into a much easier conversation.
How is Korea divided on the map?
TapSeoul's My Korea map uses real geographic outlines, not squares or pins. The country is split into 17 travel regions and 210 pieces in total:
| Travel region | Pieces on the map |
|---|---|
| Seoul | 25 districts |
| Busan | 16 districts and county |
| Incheon | 11 districts and counties |
| Gyeonggi | 31 cities and counties |
| Gangwon (Gangwon State) | 18 cities and counties |
| Chungbuk (North Chungcheong) | 11 cities and counties |
| Chungnam (South Chungcheong) | 15 cities and counties |
| Jeonbuk (Jeonbuk State, formerly North Jeolla) | 14 cities and counties |
| Jeonnam (South Jeolla) | 22 cities and counties |
| Gyeongbuk (North Gyeongsang) | 22 cities and counties |
| Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang) | 18 cities and counties |
| Jeju | 2 (Jeju City and Seogwipo) |
| Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan, Sejong | 1 each |
Seoul, Busan and Incheon are mapped district by district because that is how most visitors move around them. Everywhere else, a city or county is one piece. Far-off islands appear in a separate inset so they do not shrink the rest of the map.
The counters at the top show how far you have come, for example 12 places visited and 5 / 17 regions visited. Places you have been are filled in; the rest stay Not yet.
How do I add places I've already visited?
There are three ways, and none of them requires an account.
1. By hand. Choose a region, tap a place, then answer When did you visit? with Date unknown or Today. Turn on I stayed overnight if you slept there, and tap I’ve been here. No permissions are needed.
2. From photos. Tap From photos and let TapSeoul look at the location and date stored in your photos. It suggests the places you were in, you review the list, and only the ones you select are added. This is the fastest way to rebuild trips from years ago. More on this below.
3. “I’m here now”. Tap I’m here now while you are out. TapSeoul checks your location once, shows which area you are in, and asks you to confirm before saving. It does not track you in the background.
Can I see when I visited each place?
Yes. Tap any filled-in place and TapSeoul lists every date you were there, oldest first, plus Date unknown for visits without a date and Stayed here if you marked an overnight stay. If you have been to Jung-gu, the district with Myeong-dong, on three different trips, you will see all three dates.
This is the part repeat visitors tend to enjoy most. Put in your past trips from photos once, and your map becomes a record of every visit, not just a coloring exercise.
Rebuilding past trips from your photos
Most phone cameras save where and when each photo was taken. TapSeoul uses only those two pieces of information:
- Open My Korea, tap From photos.
- Pick a range: Last 2 years or All dates. Choose All dates to bring back older trips.
- Allow photo access. You can give access to all photos or only to selected ones, such as your Korea albums.
- TapSeoul shows the places it found. Review places before adding, untick anything you do not want, then tap Add selected places.
Changed your mind? Undo last photo import removes only the visits added by that import. Places you added by hand stay.
What it never does: it does not look at what is in the pictures, does not copy or upload them, and does not keep the coordinates. Only the area and the day are saved, on your phone.
Photos without a location cannot help. That includes pictures taken while the camera's location access was off, most screenshots, and many images that were saved from messaging apps. You can always add those trips by hand.
Share your map
Tap Share map to save or send the current map as an image, whether that is the whole of Korea or just your Seoul. It is a nice thing to post after a trip, or to send to the friend who keeps asking where you have been.
Privacy, and what to know before you start
- No account, no cloud. Your visits are stored only on your phone.
- No background tracking. Location is checked only when you tap “I’m here now”.
- No backup or restore. Deleting the app erases your map, and it cannot be recovered on a new phone. A shared image is a keepsake, not a backup.
- Reset map clears every visit at once after asking you to confirm. It cannot be undone.
Ideas for your next trip
Once your map is filled in, the gaps start to suggest the next trip:
- Finish Seoul. There are 25 districts, and most first-timers see only a handful. Our Seoul's 25 districts checklist has an idea for every one.
- Go district by district in Busan. Haeundae and Nampo-dong are just the start of 16.
- Collect day trips from Seoul. Gyeonggi's 31 cities and counties include Suwon, Paju and Gapyeong, all reachable by public transport with a T-money card.
- Complete Jeju. Only two pieces, Jeju City and Seogwipo, so one trip can do it.
FAQ
Does TapSeoul track my location automatically?
No. Location is checked once, only when you tap “I’m here now”, and you confirm the place before it is saved. You can also mark places by hand without any location permission.
Do I have to give TapSeoul access to my photos?
No. Photo import is optional. If you use it, you can allow only selected photos, and the photos are never uploaded. Only the area and date are saved.
What if I don't remember when I visited?
Choose "Date unknown". The place is still filled in, and you can add dated visits later.
Can I move my map to a new phone?
Not at the moment. TapSeoul has no account sync or backup, so your map lives on the phone where you made it. Sharing the map as an image keeps a copy of how it looks.
Does the map cover all of South Korea?
Yes: all of South Korea, in 17 travel regions and 210 areas, including Jeju and the islands. Seoul, Busan and Incheon are divided by district, and the rest by city or county.
Can I mark a place as somewhere I stayed overnight?
Yes. Turn on "I stayed overnight" when you add the visit. The place then shows "Stayed here" in its visit details.
TapSeoul is an independent app by gatepop inc. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by T-money.
No account. Cards and visited places are stored only on your phone. Photos are processed on the device and never uploaded. Optional analytics stays off until you opt in.
Sources