Korea Emergency Numbers: You Only Need 119, 112 and 1330

119 for ambulance and fire, 112 for police, and 1330 when the language barrier is the emergency. 1330 is officially the tourist information line, but it will conference you into 119 or 112 and interpret live — which makes it the single most useful number a visitor can carry. Save all three before you need them.

Last checked: 2026-09-22·Desk-researched — not yet verified on site

1. 1119 — ambulance, fire, rescue

   Free, 24 hours. English is handled, but Korean gets the details across faster. When giving your location, the nearest subway station name or a large building beats a street address. Both the call and the ambulance ride are free — hospital treatment is not, so travel insurance is not optional.

2. 2112 — police

   Crime, theft, traffic accidents, threats to your safety. A stolen passport also goes through 112, since your embassy will want the report. Something you merely dropped isn't a crime, though — a subway lost-and-found office or the national police lost-property system (lost112.go.kr) is much faster. Be aware that lost112.go.kr can refuse connections from non-Korean IP addresses, so do not count on checking it before you fly. If you left something on a train, call or visit that line's lost-and-found directly: Lines 1–2 +82-2-6110-1122, Lines 3–4 +82-2-6110-3344, Lines 5 and 8 +82-2-6311-6765, Lines 6–7 +82-2-6311-6766, Line 9 +82-2-2656-0009.

3. 31330 — the 24-hour helpline that brings an interpreter

   Run by the Korea Tourism Organization. Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese around the clock; Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Malay/Indonesian from 8am to 7pm. Explain your situation in English or Japanese and they will call 119 or 112 for you and stay on the line interpreting. They also connect you to embassies, book accommodation and take tourist complaints. It is not itself an emergency line, so if someone is in danger, call 119 or 112 first.

4. 4When pharmacies and clinics are closed

   Most Korean pharmacies close in the evening and on Sundays. Local pharmacy associations designate on-duty pharmacies that stay open late at night, on weekends and on public holidays, and the national emergency medical portal e-gen (e-gen.or.kr) lists hospitals and pharmacies open right now. Note that Korean institutional sites like e-gen and pharm114.or.kr often fail from abroad — certificate errors or a blank page — so before you are on a Korean connection, calling 1330 and asking them to look it up is the reliable route. 1339 handles disease and infection questions, and 1345 is the immigration contact centre for foreign residents. Thirteen products across four categories — fever and pain relief, cold medicine, digestive aids and pain patches — are designated household medicines and sold at 24-hour convenience stores.