Three numbers to keep, and what each one actually answers with
Save these before you need them, because the moment you need them is not the moment to be searching. What matters as much as the numbers is knowing which one has interpretation attached and which one we cannot promise it for.
| Number | For | Language support we can confirm |
|---|---|---|
| 112 | Police | English and Chinese interpretation, 24 hours, joined into the call as a three-way conversation |
| 119 | Fire and ambulance | The number itself is nationwide. We could not confirm the range of interpretation, so we do not claim one |
| 1330 | Travel helpline, run by the national tourism organization | Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese, 24 hours, free, no area code needed |
If language is the obstacle rather than the emergency itself, 1330 is often the more useful call: it is free, it answers around the clock in English and Japanese, and it can help you make sense of a situation before it becomes one for the police.
- Say where you are before you say what happened. A numbered station exit, a bus stop name or a building sign gets someone to you faster than a description does.
- On 112 the interpreter joins the call rather than taking over it, so keep talking in your own language and let the three of you sort it out.
We list only the language support we could confirm at the source. Other languages have been announced for these lines, but announcements and current operating hours are different things, and this is not a page to be optimistic on.
Where this comes from
Every number on this page was read at the source rather than in a summary. Where we could not read it at the source, the page says so instead of guessing.
Questions people actually ask
- What is the emergency number in Korea for foreigners?
- 112 for police, with English and Chinese interpretation joining the call 24 hours a day, and 119 for fire and ambulance. For anything where language rather than danger is the problem, 1330 answers in English and Japanese around the clock and costs nothing.
- Does 119 have interpretation?
- We could not confirm the range, so we do not claim it. If language is likely to be the barrier, having 1330 open on the other line is the practical answer.
- Is 1330 free to call?
- Yes, and it works from anywhere in the country without an area code. It has been running since 1999, which is a long time for a line to keep the same number.
