# Compass directions



## Warp3

Both of these questions were prompted by using the Korean settings on my GPS, so I'll ask them together.

1) I noticed my GPS used the standard English N, S, E, and W entries for compass headings for Korean UI mode but later discovered it used Chinese characters there instead for the Chinese and Taiwanese modes, so I was determined to change it. I figured out how to change the file (and did so), but seem to have run into some confusion about which order to use for the pairs (like SE = Southeast). Taiwanese used 東南 (literally east-south) for Southeast and Chinese did the same but with simplified characters instead. As such, I assumed that 동남 would be the norm for Korean (since I've heard they use a similar direction listing order to Chinese, not the N-S-E-W sequence that most of the West uses) and set it that way accordingly. However a Google search for these directional pairs finds results for both ways.

Summary: Which direction pairings are considered more "normal" in Korean?
동북, 동남, 서북, 서남
or
불동, 북서, 남동, 남서

xxxx 
Thanks in advance.


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## kenjoluma

1. Traditionally East or West comes first and North and South later. But scientific terms always stick to "European" way, which is considered 'more legitimate'. As a native Korean, I expect my GPS to say North-East, not East-North. I'm not sure about Taiwanese though.


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## Warp3

1. I just realized that I wrote the choices in Hanja and meant to put Hangul there...oops. Hmm...so apparently they inherit the Western pairing order for that for the same reason that most technology terms are English loan words...interesting. I guess I'll switch it over to the more "expected" 북동 pattern instead on my GPS. Would seeing it in Hanja change that expectation or would you still expect to see 北東 over 東北?


Thanks for the help.


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## Warp3

Sorry about that Cherine, I read through the rules right before I posted, but somehow missed that one.  Thanks for the split.


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## cherine

No problem, Warp. And you're welcome.


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