Can I call 112 or 119 if I do not speak Korean?

Yes. The 112 police line has English and Chinese interpreters at all hours. If you cannot make yourself understood on any line, 1330 can interpret for you.

How do I call 1330 from outside Korea?

Dial +82-2-1330. Inside Korea you dial 1330 only. KTO also offers a free online voice call over Wi-Fi and chat through its 1330 Messenger, KakaoTalk, Facebook and Line.

Is 1345 open on weekends?

The Korea Immigration Service page lists weekday hours only (09:00 to 22:00), so plan visa questions for a weekday.

Where do I find my embassy's number?

KTO points visitors to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site, mofa.go.kr, which lists the foreign diplomatic missions in Korea. Save your own embassy's number before you fly.

Emergency Numbers in Korea: 112, 119, 1330 and More

What to do

Save four numbers in your phone before you land: 112 (police), 119 (fire, rescue, ambulance), 1330 (Korea Travel Hotline) and your own embassy. Those cover almost every urgent situation a visitor runs into.

If something is life threatening, call 112 or 119 first, even if you are worried about the language. Interpretation can be added to the call. For anything that is not an emergency, such as a taxi dispute, a lost booking or a question about a place, start with 1330.

Police: 112

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) lists 112 as the police number. Use it for crimes, accidents, threats, a missing person or anything where you need officers to come.

Since March 18, 2024, the Korean National Police Agency has run its 112 interpretation center around the clock, in English and Chinese, according to Korea.net. Before that change the service only ran on weekday daytime hours. The agency said it planned to add more languages, such as Japanese and Vietnamese, but no addition was confirmed in the sources checked for this page.

When the call connects, say which language you need and stay on the line.

Fire, rescue and ambulance: 119

119 is the single number for fires, rescue and medical emergencies, per KTO’s emergency page. Use it for chest pain, serious injury, breathing problems, a fire or someone trapped.

Have your location ready. A building name, a nearby subway exit number or the address from your hotel booking helps the dispatcher. If the operator cannot understand you, the Safe Korea service of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety notes that the 1330 hotline can help connect travelers to emergency services.

Korea Travel Hotline: 1330

1330 is run by KTO for travelers. It gives travel information, interprets for you (with a taxi driver, a shop or a hospital desk, for example) and takes tourist complaints.

How to reach it, based on KTO and Safe Korea:

Inside Korea, dial 1330 from any phone.
From abroad, dial +82-2-1330.
Without a local number, use KTO’s free online voice call over Wi-Fi, or chat through 1330 Messenger, KakaoTalk, Facebook or Line.

Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Malay are answered every day from 08:00 to 19:00.

Immigration questions: 1345

The Immigration Contact Center at 1345 handles visa, stay and entry questions, and can set up three-way interpretation with government offices. From abroad, the Korea Immigration Service lists +82-1345 or +82-2-1345.

Hours are 09:00 to 22:00 on weekdays. After 18:00, only Korean, English and Chinese are available. The page does not list weekend hours.

Medical help without an emergency

For a problem that is not urgent, many large hospitals run an international health care center with interpreters. KTO’s emergency page lists centers in Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Daegu and other cities, with phone lines by language.

Most of the listed centers keep weekday office hours (roughly 08:00 to 17:30) and close on weekends and public holidays. Outside those hours, go to a hospital emergency room or call 119. For infectious disease concerns, KTO lists 1339.

Lost items

If you leave something on a Seoul Metro train, ask at the station office right away. Seoul Metro asks you to note the four-digit train number, the time you got off and which car you were in.

Items go to a Seoul Metro lost and found center, then to the local police within seven days of being found. Found items are also entered in the national police lost and found database at lost112.go.kr. After hours, use the Seoul Metro call center at 1577-1234. Bring your passport or other ID to collect anything, since staff must check identity before handing items back.

Numbers at a glance

Situation	Number	Language help
Crime, accident, danger	112	English, Chinese, 24 hours
Fire, injury, sudden illness	119	Ask for interpretation, or use 1330
Travel help, interpretation, complaints	1330	4 languages 24/7, 4 more 08:00 to 19:00
Visa and immigration	1345	Weekdays 09:00 to 22:00
Infectious disease	1339	Not stated
Lost item on Seoul Metro (after hours)	1577-1234	Not stated

Common mistakes

Calling 1330 for a real emergency. 1330 helps with language, but police and ambulances are sent through 112 and 119. Call those first.
Not knowing where you are. Note your hotel address in Korean and the nearest subway exit each day.
Relying on a data-only eSIM to call. Some tourist eSIMs carry no phone number. Check whether your plan can make voice calls before you rely on it.
Expecting weekend immigration help. 1345 lists weekday hours only.

When this does not apply

If you have lost your passport, the police can record the loss, but a replacement travel document comes from your own embassy or consulate. Use mofa.go.kr to find its contact details, and check your embassy’s page before you fly.

Hotline hours and languages can change. Check the official pages listed below before your trip.