Emergency phone numbers in Korea

The short answerCall 112 for an immediate police response and 119 for fire, rescue or an ambulance. Say 'English please' or 'Interpreter please,' then give your location and the immediate danger. Use 1330 for non-emergency travel information or interpretation, 1345 for immigration matters and 1339 for infectious-disease information—not instead of emergency dispatch.

What matters

112 is Korea's nationwide police emergency number.
119 dispatches fire, rescue and emergency medical services, including an ambulance.
Korea Tourism Organization advises callers who do not speak Korean to request English or an interpreter when connected to 112 or 119.
1330 is a travel-information, interpretation and tourist-complaint service; it is not a police or ambulance dispatch line.
1345 handles immigration and stay-status questions, while 1339 provides infectious-disease information and reporting guidance.

Use 112 or 119 when someone needs help now

Call 112 when there is violence, theft in progress, a threatening person, a missing vulnerable person, a serious traffic incident or another situation requiring police. Call 119 for fire, smoke, rescue, severe injury, breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness or any condition that may need an ambulance.

If both safety and medical help are involved, tell the first operator exactly what is happening rather than spending time choosing a perfect category. Follow the operator's instructions and do not replace an emergency call with a message to a hotel, insurer, embassy, travel helpline or Korea KnowHow.

Police dispatch: 112
Fire, rescue and ambulance: 119
Useful words: 'English please' or 'Interpreter please.'

Give the location before the full story

Start with the city and a precise location: Korean street address, building name, subway station and exit, road direction, highway marker or a nearby business. Read the Korean address from your map or accommodation booking when pronunciation is difficult. Then state what happened, how many people are involved and whether anyone is conscious, breathing, bleeding, trapped or still in danger.

Keep the line open unless the operator tells you to disconnect. Send another person to meet responders when possible, preserve phone battery and move only when remaining in place is unsafe. If a voice call is not practical, Korea Tourism Organization's current safety guide links to the multilingual Baro Emergency Reporting app, but an app should not delay a working 112 or 119 call.

Save your accommodation's Korean address offline.
Enable location services before an emergency, but still describe a visible landmark.
Do not assume an English nickname identifies the correct branch or station exit.

Use 1330 for travel help, not emergency dispatch

Dial 1330 inside Korea for Korea Tourism Organization travel information, tourist interpretation and tourism complaints. The official service also publishes online voice and chat options and the overseas number +82-2-1330. Use it for a transport question, communication problem or help finding the appropriate tourism channel when nobody is in immediate danger.

If life, safety or property is under active threat, call 112 or 119 first. A travel interpreter cannot substitute for dispatch, and transferring through another service can waste critical time. Published languages and channel availability can change, so re-check the official 1330 page before relying on a specific language or chat option.

Use 1345 and 1339 for their specific jobs

Dial 1345 for Korean immigration, visa, entry record, period of stay and immigration-office questions. Korea Immigration Service currently lists weekday counseling from 09:00 to 22:00, with Korean, English and Chinese after 18:00; it is not a 24-hour police or medical emergency number.

Dial 1339 for Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency information about infectious diseases, travel vaccination and reportable-disease procedures. KDCA lists its Korean call center as available 24/7 and directs foreigners needing multilingual assistance to 1345. For an ambulance or a potentially life-threatening medical problem, use 119—not 1339.

Immigration Contact Center: 1345 inside Korea.
Infectious-disease information: 1339 inside Korea.
Check current hours and language support before a non-emergency call.

Violence support does not replace immediate police help

Call 112 first if violence, stalking or sexual harm is happening now or the person may return. The national Women's Emergency Hotline 1366 operates around the clock for women needing crisis counseling, protection or referral related to domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, dating violence and digital sexual crimes.

Danuri Helpline 1577-1366 provides multilingual counseling, interpretation and emergency support for migrant women and multicultural families. Its published scope is narrower than a general tourist information line, so travelers outside that scope can ask 112 or 1330 for the appropriate current victim-support service.

Build a personal emergency card before the trip

Save 112, 119, your accommodation, embassy or consulate, travel insurer, card issuers and any rental-company accident number in a note available offline. Add your name, nationality, allergies, essential medicines, emergency contact and the Korean address of the accommodation without storing banking passwords or full card numbers.

Domestic short codes are designed for calls made in Korea. From outside Korea, use each agency's published international number rather than adding +82 to a short code by guesswork. If your roaming or data-only setup cannot place a normal call, use another person's phone, a staffed counter, hotel phone or nearby police or fire facility immediately.

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Official sources to re-check

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Not for urgent help: use the appropriate police, ambulance, embassy, medical or immigration service when waiting could cause harm or disrupt imminent travel.