How Does Emergency Numbers Work in South Korea?
Last verified: 2025-06 · Asia
1The Quick Answer
Dial 112 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance, and 1330 for the 24/7 English-language Korea Tourism Hotline.
2What You Need to Know
The Korea Tourism Organization's 1330 hotline is particularly valuable for tourists — it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English, Chinese, and Japanese, and can assist with travel emergencies, translation help, and general inquiries. The 112 police line and 119 fire/ambulance line both have basic English support. In a medical emergency, clearly stating your location using a nearby landmark or the exact address from a map app will speed response times significantly.
3Practical Tips
Practical Tips
- 1Save 1330 in your phone immediately upon arrival — it is the most useful number for tourists and operates around the clock in English.
- 2The address system in Korea can be complex; use Kakao Maps or Naver Maps to get a precise address to relay to emergency services.
- 3Most major tourist areas have tourist police booths staffed by officers with basic English ability — look for the blue-and-white 'Tourist Police' signage.
How does this compare?
Emergency Numbers rules in nearby and similar countries:
Police: 110. Ambulance & Fire: 119. Tourist helpline (English): 050-3816-2787.
Tourist Police: 1155 (English spoken). Ambulance: 1669. Fire: 199. Regular Police: 191.
Police: 999. Ambulance & Fire: 995. Non-emergency police: 1800-255-0000. Singapore has extremely fast emergency response.
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