The City of Seoul is in the process of changing its address system, a process which is expected to be completed in 2012. In the meantime many residences and commercial buildings may show two numbers. In some case, there is a plaque outside the property with a printed number (odd numbers on one side of the street, even ones on the other) and a personalised plaque with another number. Officially postal delivery is supposed to be made to both sets of numbers so if a letter is addressed to you at your official (new) street address or to the one used previously it should still arrive regardless. However this is not necessarily the case. Should you want to find out more about the situation with property numbering in your neighbourhood please contact your local post office (you may need a Korean speaker to help you).

The Korean postal service is reliable and post offices provide everything you would expect. Trying to get help beyond posting a simple letter or parcel without knowledge of the Korean language will usually prove difficult, although staff are courteous and helpful.

Website of the South Korean postal service:

• http://www.koreapost.go.kr/