119, 112 and the numbers that bring an interpreter onto the line

Right now

1. 1Save 119 and 112 in your contacts now, next to your address written in Korean. Where you are is the first thing the operator needs.
2. 2If you cannot speak, text 119 or send a photo. The fire agency accepts SMS, MMS, video calls and reports through its 119 app.
3. 3Save BBB, 1588-5644, as well. Volunteers interpret 20 languages 24 hours a day, and the interpretation is free apart from the call charge.

What to have ready

• Your address in Korean, saved where you can copy it: Road name and building number, then the floor and room. The guide on reading a Korean address shows how it is written.
• Location permission for the 119 app: The app asks whether to send your location with the report. Allowing it saves you describing where you are.
• The numbers in your contacts: 119, 112, 1339, 1345, 1330 and 1588-5644: Save them with their English names so you can find them in a hurry.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

1. 1

   119 or 112, decided by what is happening

   Korea keeps two emergency numbers. 119 is the fire agency: fires, people trapped or hurt, anyone who has collapsed, stopped breathing or needs an ambulance. 112 is the police: a crime, a fight, someone threatening you or following you, a theft in progress. The Korea Tourism Organization lists the same split for visitors, 119 for fire and medical emergencies and 112 for the police. Expect the operator to answer in Korean.

2. 2

   Say where you are before you say what happened

   The first thing an emergency operator needs is a location, because with an address they can send help while they work out the rest. Give the road name address and building number if you have them, then the floor and room. If you are outside, the name of the nearest subway station and exit number, a large building or a shop sign all help. If a Korean speaker is nearby, the most useful thing you can ask is for them to tell the operator where you are. The phrases at the bottom of this guide include one for that.

3. 3

   If you cannot talk, write or show

   The National Fire Agency says 119 is not voice only. You can send a short text (SMS) or a text with photos and video (MMS) to 119, make a video call to 119, report through the 119 app, which asks permission to send your location, or use the web report on 119.go.kr. The agency singles out the video call as useful for foreigners and for deaf people, since you can point the camera at what is happening. The web report states that it is for people who find it hard to speak in an emergency and for foreign residents who are not fluent in Korean. It also warns that a false or prank report can bring a fine of up to 5 million won.

4. 4

   Ask for an interpreter in one word

   When the operator answers in Korean, do not hang up. Say 통역 (tongyeok, interpreter) and your language, or read out the first phrase below. We could not find a page from the fire agency or the police that describes how an interpreter is added to a 119 or 112 call, so keep a second route ready. The police's own list of phone interpretation services names four lines: 1330, the Danuri call center, 1345 and BBB. Of those, only BBB and Danuri are listed as open around the clock.

5. 5

   BBB, volunteers on the phone 24 hours a day

   BBB Korea (1588-5644) is a volunteer interpretation service. Call the number, choose your language, and you are connected to a volunteer's mobile phone. It covers 20 languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Mongolian, Hindi, Malay and Swahili. The interpretation is free and you pay only the call. Because volunteers answer from their own phones, the police note that the connection can take a little while, so treat it as the second call, not the first one in a fire. The BBB app adds chat and photos during a call and can connect a third person, such as a pharmacist or a taxi driver. If you use the main number instead, a three-way call needs your carrier's three-way calling service. From outside Korea the number is +82-2-818-1500. BBB interprets over the phone only. It does not send anyone to you, book things or negotiate on your behalf.

6. 6

   1339 for health questions that are not an ambulance

   The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency answers 1339 24 hours a day, every day of the year, free of charge, for questions about illness and for reporting a suspected infectious disease. Foreign residents get counselling through a three-way call with 1330 or 1345, so the language you get depends on the hours of those two lines. If someone is unconscious, badly hurt or cannot breathe, it is 119, not 1339.

7. 7

   1345 and 1330 for everything that can wait a few minutes

   The Immigration Contact Center, 1345, answers questions about immigration and daily life in Korea in 20 languages, and it can join a three-way call with a government office, a local authority, a public institution or a non-profit dealing with your case. It runs on weekdays from 09:00 to 22:00, not on public holidays, and after 18:00 only in Korean, English and Chinese. HiKorea lists it as a paid call. The 1330 travel hotline of the Korea Tourism Organization handles travel information and interpretation in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Malay-Indonesian, from 07:00 to midnight. Neither of them sends an ambulance or the police.

8. 8

   In Seoul, 120 then 9, and Danuri for families

   Seoul's Dasan call center answers questions about city services. Dial 120 and press 9 for English, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese or Mongolian, on weekdays from 09:00 to 18:00 except public holidays. The Danuri call center (1577-1366) is set up for marriage migrants and multicultural families and covers more than a dozen languages, including Vietnamese, Filipino, Khmer, Uzbek, Lao and Nepali.

The Korean words

신고singo, report, emergency call

119에 신고하다 means to call or report to 119.

구급차gugeupcha, ambulance

Sent by 119, the fire agency, not by hospitals.

경찰gyeongchal, police

Reached on 112.

통역tongyeok, interpretation, interpreter

The one word to say when the operator answers in Korean.

3자 통화samja tonghwa, three-way call

How 1339, 1345 and BBB bring a third person onto the call.

위치wichi, location

The operator's first question.

주소juso, address

Road name and building number, then floor and room.

문자 신고munja singo, text report

A text message or photo sent to 119.

영상통화yeongsang tonghwa, video call

119 accepts video calls, which the fire agency recommends for foreigners.

응급실eunggeupsil, emergency room

The hospital department an ambulance takes you to.

Easy to miss

• ·Hanging up because the operator answers in Korean. Stay on the line, say 통역 and your language, and give your location.
• ·Starting with the whole story. The operator can dispatch as soon as they know where you are, and the details can follow.
• ·Calling 1330, 1345 or 1339 instead of 119 when someone is in danger. Those lines inform and interpret. They do not send an ambulance or the police.
• ·Expecting 1345 at the weekend or on a public holiday. It runs on weekdays only.
• ·Making BBB your first call in a fire. It is run by volunteers, so the connection can take time. Call 119 first and BBB alongside.

You can skip this if

• If you are ill but it is not an emergency, the guide on seeing a doctor covers clinics, hospitals and what they cost.
• If a loud alert on your phone is what worried you, the guide on emergency alert texts explains what each kind asks you to do.

Where this comes from

• Report to 119 anytime, anywhere, 15 April 2025: text, photo and video, video call, the 119 app and the web report (National Fire Agency, 소방청)
• Web 119 report, for people who find it hard to speak and foreign residents who are not fluent in Korean (119 Safety Report Center, National Fire Agency, 소방청 119안전신고센터)
• Helpful services: emergency numbers and the 1330 travel hotline (Korea Tourism Organization, 한국관광공사)
• Immigration Contact Center 1345: hours, languages and three-way interpretation (Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, 법무부)
• HiKorea footer: 1345 runs Monday to Friday 09:00 to 22:00, closed on public holidays, as a paid call (Korea Immigration Service, 법무부 출입국, 외국인정책본부)
• 1339 call center: hours, and counselling for foreigners through a three-way call with 1330 or 1345 (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 질병관리청)
• Phone interpretation services listed by the police: 1330, Danuri, 1345 and BBB, with languages and hours (Korean National Police Agency, 경찰청 경찰민원24)
• How to use BBB interpretation: 20 languages, free apart from call charges, the app and three-way calling (BBB Korea)
• Phone services for foreigners, including Dasan 120 in foreign languages (Seoul Safety Nuri, Seoul Metropolitan Government, 서울시)