Google Maps is building turn-by-turn navigation for South Korea, a country where the feature has never been available despite Maps operating there for years.
The gap exists because South Korean law restricts the export of detailed map data, forcing Google to work with local partners rather than its standard infrastructure. That legal constraint is why Naver Maps and Kakao Maps have dominated Korean navigation. Google is now working around this, not through it.
The original article is worth reading for the specifics on how Google is structuring its local data agreements and what timeline is attached to the rollout. The technical workaround, not just the announcement, is the story.
[READ ORIGINAL →]