Mongolia’s ‘gers’ to get Korean-style addresses...K-address system makes its first overseas debut

[Financial News] Korea’s road-name address system is being applied in earnest for the first time to the establishment of an address system in a foreign country. Roads in Ulaanbaatar’s Chingeltei District will be assigned road names and building numbers, as in Korea. In areas without buildings, gers will use location numbers assigned to land divided into a regular grid as addresses.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 10th that a delegation of experts led by Vice Minister Kim Min-jae will visit Mongolia through the 11th to attend the launch ceremony for the “Project to Strengthen Digital Public Administration through the Modernization of Mongolia’s Address Information.” The project will be carried out with official development assistance (ODA) from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), with 11 billion won to be invested from 2026 through 2029.
The project is being pursued by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as the first overseas export of Korea’s address system. The delegation will discuss with Mongolian officials legal and institutional reforms for the stable maintenance and management of the address system, the digitization of address information, joint use of the two countries’ address systems, and measures to exchange officials and strengthen their capabilities.
As a first step, Korean-style road-name signs and building-number plates will be installed on Narlakk 24-gil in the ger area of Ulaanbaatar’s Chingeltei District. Roads will be numbered along their routes, while buildings will display the relevant road name and number so that their locations can be found using only the address.
The numbering method is also similar to Korea’s. In Korea, basic numbers are assigned at 20-meter intervals along roads. Odd numbers are placed on the left and even numbers on the right based on the direction of travel. Mongolia’s address system will also incorporate 20-meter intervals and the assignment of odd and even numbers.
The system differs in areas without roads or buildings. Mongolia will use the National Point Number system, which Korea uses to identify locations in mountains and open fields. Land is divided into grids of a set size, and each point is identified with letters and numbers. In Mongolia, these identifiers will serve as the primary addresses for gers, the homes of nomadic people. Separate alternative addresses will be assigned to land and buildings with established ownership. A system for managing dead-end roads will also be introduced. Short roads branching off a main road will be assigned numbers such as “10-1” and “10-2,” as in Korea, with odd numbers on the left and even numbers on the right.
Cooperation between the two countries in the address sector began in 2024. At the time, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mongolia’s Cabinet Secretariat to establish an address system and installed a “Seoul-ro” road-name sign in Ulaanbaatar. Through this project, Korea’s operating methods will be applied to Mongolia’s address system as a whole, moving beyond cooperation limited to installing signs.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to use the Mongolia project as a stepping stone to expand the overseas deployment of Korea’s address system. It is currently pursuing address modernization projects in three African countries—Ethiopia, Tanzania and Botswana—and two Central Asian countries—Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—with which it is cooperating in the address sector.
Vice Minister Kim said, “Addresses are important national infrastructure information that connects administrative services with people’s daily lives and safety. We will share with Mongolia Korea’s experience of using addresses in digital administration, disaster and safety management, logistics and other areas.”
[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter