Naver is the most used website / app in South Korea, according to both SimilarWeb and Alexa. Naver is mostly known for its search engine, but it is actually more a portal (like Yahoo!) and also developed other apps like Band (social media) and Line (messaging). Some of its more well known services are: Blog, Cafe (similar to a Facebook Group), Maps, Post (mobile blog), Modoo (similar to Google Sites), shopping, email, dictionary, Papago, webtoons, news, images, video, drive / office, Q&A (지식iN), browser (Whale), encyclopedia, stock market, real estate, movies, music and books. (There are even more.) Naver also has an accelerator (D2SF) to foster startups. As a company you can use Naver for promotion like search ads, SEO and social media. But Naver seems to be only available in English. It is possible to use the Naver search engine in English on your smartphone or tablet. How to do it?
This blog post consists of the following parts:
- Changing the language of Naver from Korean to English / Chinese / Japanese
- How to register for a Naver account in English / Chinese / Japanese
- How to use Naver Maps in English / Chinese / Japanese
- Naver music app (Vibe)
- Naver Mail
Changing the language of Naver from Korean to English
There are two ways to use Naver from Korean in English. Both ways are for the Naver app (mobile). The only way to use Naver in English on your computer is by using the Chrome extension Google Translate.
1st way: Using Naver app
Assuming you already installed the Naver app on your smartphone. If you didn’t, you can download them here for Android or Apple.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6 – Voilà, you have changed the language to English!
Besides English, it is also possible to use the Naver app in Chinese and Japanese.
Here is the guide in video:
2nd way: Using Naver Dictionary + App
Assuming you already installed the Naver Dictionary and Naver app on your smartphone. If you didn’t, you can download Naver Dictionary here for Android or Apple. Follow the link to find the whole explanation. This method takes a few more steps.
How to register for a Naver account
Don’t have a Naver account but you want to use email, Blog and other services? You sign up for Naver in English, Chinese or Japanese. By registering for a Naver account you can also use Naver Cafe, etc. Your ID will also be the ID for the Naver Blog. For example, if you choose as your ID “myname”, your Naver Blog address will be: blog.naver.com/myname. You only need a mobile phone number to verify your Naver account. It can be from any country. Follow the link to sign up for a Naver account. It is all in English.
How to use Naver Maps in English
Naver Maps is like the Korean version of Google Maps. The default language is Korean, how to change it to English, Chinese or Japanese? Follow the steps below.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5 – Naver Maps is now in English!
Naver music app – Vibe
Want to use Naver Music in English? Actually Naver Music will cease operations in December 2019 and merge with Vibe music app, also a service from Naver. Vibe is an artificial intelligence (AI) music recommendation application. Vibe is in English and you can download the app from Google Play or iTunes.
Naver Mail
The Naver Mail app is in English (if your smartphone OS is in English) and you can download it from Google Play or iTunes.
I tried to do it but I don’t have the little icon so is there another way??
Please I would really appreciate your help
Hi Iman, Naver changed the icon. It is now a bird (Papago) looking icon. I just re-uploaded the screenshot of step 5.
Hi! Is there any way we can search for a person with just a name on Naver app?
I lost contact with a korean friend, I don’t have his email but I know he uses the Naver app/mail.
Thank you so much.
Hi Ying, sorry to read that you lost contact. You can try to type his name in Naver, or post in social media with details about how you met him.
Ih, I can’t speak English but I tried. How can I put everything in English or Spanish?
Hi Naira, last time I checked, only English, Japanese and Chinese are available, like I wrote in the article.