Kakao Maps Local API

Name: Kakao Maps Local API
Brand: Kakao Maps Local API
Availability: InStock

★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentMaps GeolocationGeocodingapiKey6 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Resolve Korean addresses to coordinates, search Korean places by keyword or category, and transform coordinates between WGS84 and Korean coordinate systems. Six endpoints covering the full geocoding workflow.

Install Jentic One Beta

Connect the Kakao Maps Local API to your agent

Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Kakao Maps Local API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.

Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.

Step 1: Jentic One Host machine

# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh

Step 2: Agent machine

# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register       # connects your agent to your Jentic One instance

Jentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with Kakao Maps Local API.

Geocode a Korean street or land-lot address into latitude and longitude using /v2/local/search/address.json

Reverse-geocode a coordinate pair to a Korean administrative or legal region code via /v2/local/geo/coord2regioncode.json

Resolve a coordinate pair to the nearest Korean street address via /v2/local/geo/coord2address.json

GET STARTED

Start building with Kakao Maps Local API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Document

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Kakao Maps Local API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. Kakao Maps Local API exposes geocoding, reverse geocoding, keyword and category place search, coordinate transformation, and region code lookup tailored to South Korean addresses and points of interest. It is the canonical location-data service for applications targeting Korean users where Google Maps coverage is incomplete. Authentication uses a KakaoAK REST API key passed in the Authorization header, and responses follow Kakao's standard JSON envelope with documents, meta, and same_name fields.

Use Cases

Patterns agents use Kakao Maps Local API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Korean Address Geocoding

Convert Korean street addresses, land-lot addresses, and building names into latitude and longitude coordinates for mapping, delivery routing, or location-based services. Kakao's geocoder handles both road-name (도로명) and land-lot (지번) address formats with confidence scoring through analyze_type. Integration is a single GET call returning matched documents with x, y coordinates and address normalisation in under 200 ms.

Geocode the address '서울 강남구 테헤란로 152' using GET /v2/local/search/address.json and return the road and land-lot coordinates.

Korean Place Search and Discovery

Find businesses, landmarks, and points of interest across Korea by keyword or category code, with optional centre point and radius for proximity-based results. Each match returns place name, category, phone, road and land-lot address, coordinates, and distance from the search centre. Used for store locators, travel guides, and local-search features where Korean coverage is required.

Search for 'starbucks' near coordinates (37.5665, 126.9780) within a 1000-metre radius and return the closest five locations sorted by distance.

Coordinate System Transformation

Transform coordinates between WGS84 (GPS), KTM, TM, and WCONGNAMUL projection systems used by Korean government datasets and legacy mapping software. The transcoord endpoint accepts a single point with input_coord and output_coord parameters and returns the projected x, y values. Critical for ingesting Korean public-sector spatial data that ships in non-standard projections.

Convert the WGS84 point (127.108678, 37.402001) to the WCONGNAMUL projection using GET /v2/local/geo/transcoord.json.

Region Code Lookup for Compliance

Map a coordinate to its administrative (행정동) and legal (법정동) region codes, required for tax filings, delivery zone restrictions, and regional reporting in Korea. The coord2regioncode endpoint returns both code types in one call with their hierarchical names, so a delivery app can validate that a drop-off falls within a serviced district.

Resolve coordinates (127.1086, 37.4020) to their administrative and legal region codes using GET /v2/local/geo/coord2regioncode.json.

Agent-Driven Korean Location Workflows

AI agents handling logistics, travel planning, or local-recommendation tasks for Korean users discover Kakao Maps Local through Jentic's intent search. The agent resolves a Korean place name to coordinates, then chains category search to find nearby services, all without manually crafting Authorization headers or parsing Kakao's nested response envelope. Jentic injects the KakaoAK key at execution time so the agent never sees raw credentials.

Use the Jentic search query 'find places in Korea by keyword', load the keyword search schema, and execute a search for '광화문' to return the top three matching places.

Key Endpoints

6 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for kakao maps local api, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

GET

/v2/local/search/address.json

Geocode a Korean address to coordinates

GET

/v2/local/geo/coord2address.json

Reverse geocode coordinates to a Korean address

GET

/v2/local/geo/coord2regioncode.json

Resolve coordinates to administrative and legal region codes

GET

/v2/local/geo/transcoord.json

Transform coordinates between Korean projection systems

GET

/v2/local/search/keyword.json

Search Korean places by free-text keyword

GET

/v2/local/search/category.json

Search Korean places by Kakao category code

GET

/v2/local/search/address.json

Geocode a Korean address to coordinates

GET

/v2/local/geo/coord2address.json

Reverse geocode coordinates to a Korean address

GET

/v2/local/geo/coord2regioncode.json

Resolve coordinates to administrative and legal region codes

GET

/v2/local/geo/transcoord.json

Transform coordinates between Korean projection systems

GET

/v2/local/search/keyword.json

Search Korean places by free-text keyword

Why Jentic?

Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.

Credential isolation

The KakaoAK REST API key is stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents receive scoped execution tokens, so the raw KakaoAK key never enters the agent's prompt or response context.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search by intent (for example, 'geocode a Korean address') and Jentic returns the matching Kakao Maps Local operation with its query-parameter schema, removing the need to read Kakao Developers documentation for shape and authentication.

Time to first call

Direct Kakao integration: half a day to register the application, configure the KakaoAK header, and parse the documents/meta response shape. Through Jentic: a few minutes — search, load schema, execute.

FAQs

Specific to using Kakao Maps Local API through Jentic.

Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for Kakao Maps Local API?

Kakao does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call Kakao Maps Local API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.

What authentication does the Kakao Maps Local API use?

The API uses an API key scheme called KakaoAK. Each request must send an Authorization header in the form `Authorization: KakaoAK {REST_API_KEY}`, where the key is issued from your Kakao Developers application. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted in the vault and injected at execution time, so the agent never sees the raw key value.

Can I geocode both road-name and land-lot addresses with the Kakao Maps Local API?

Yes. GET /v2/local/search/address.json accepts both 도로명 (road-name) and 지번 (land-lot) Korean addresses and returns separate `road_address` and `address` blocks in each matched document, with x, y coordinates for both formats. Use the `analyze_type` query parameter to choose between similar and exact matching.

What are the rate limits for the Kakao Maps Local API?

Kakao applies a daily quota per application key (typically 300,000 requests per day for the Local API on the free tier) and rejects bursts with HTTP 429. The exact quota depends on the application's review status in Kakao Developers — check your app dashboard at https://developers.kakao.com for current limits before scaling agent traffic.

How do I search Korean places by category through Jentic?

Run `pip install jentic` and search Jentic with the query 'find places in Korea by keyword'. Jentic returns the schema for GET /v2/local/search/category.json; the agent supplies a category_group_code (for example `CE7` for cafes), centre coordinates, and radius, then executes the call to receive matching places ranked by distance.

Is the Kakao Maps Local API free to use?

Yes for typical usage. The Local API is free up to the daily quota assigned to your Kakao Developers application, and there is no per-call charge below that quota. Higher quotas require a business review through Kakao Developers.

Can the Kakao Maps Local API convert WGS84 coordinates to Korean projection systems?

Yes. GET /v2/local/geo/transcoord.json converts a single (x, y) point between WGS84, KTM, TM, and WCONGNAMUL by setting `input_coord` and `output_coord`. This is essential when ingesting Korean public-sector datasets that ship in non-WGS84 projections.