Emergency Numbers in Korea: 112, 119, and Non-Urgent Help

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• 🚓112 — Police

  Crime, violence, an immediate threat to personal safety, or a situation requiring police response.

• 🚑119 — Fire, rescue, medical

  Fire, rescue, a serious injury or illness, or an ambulance and emergency medical response.

• 🏛️110 — Government consultation

  Non-urgent government questions and civil-service guidance, not emergency dispatch.

• ☎️1339 — Disease information

  KDCA disease information and infectious-disease consultation. The old emergency-medical role moved to 119 in 2012.

Call 112 when the immediate need is police response: a crime in progress, violence, stalking, theft with a current safety risk, or another threat to a person.

Call 119 for fire, rescue, a serious injury or illness, or an ambulance. The former emergency-medical services attached to 1339 were transferred nationwide to 119 in June 2012.

Some incidents require both police and fire or medical teams. The national integrated-reporting system allows responding agencies to share the report, location and phone information and request joint action. You should still start with the number that matches the immediate response you need instead of relying on a travel guide's blanket “always call this one” rule.

Give the dispatcher short, concrete information:

1. Where you are — a road-name address, station exit, shop name or visible landmark.
2. What happened — fire, collision, assault, collapse, breathing problem or another clear description.
3. How many people need help and whether anyone is injured or in immediate danger.
4. Your phone number and where you will wait, if the dispatcher asks.

Follow the dispatcher's questions and instructions. Do not hang up simply because the first explanation was difficult. If you cannot communicate fluently, say the language you speak, use short words, and read the Korean address from your map or accommodation note.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety states that report details, location and phone information can be shared between emergency agencies, reducing the need to repeat the same report during a joint response.

Older travel material may describe 1339 as Korea's emergency-medical information line. That role was integrated into 119 nationwide in June 2012. The change placed emergency consultation, first-aid guidance and hospital-transfer coordination within the 119 emergency medical control system.

Today, 1339 is operated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It provides disease information and infectious-disease consultation 24 hours a day, year-round. It can be useful for that purpose, but it does not replace 119 when emergency medical response or an ambulance is needed.

The division is practical: use 1339 for disease-information questions and 119 when emergency medical response or an ambulance is needed.

1330 is the Korea Tourism Organization travel helpline. A February 2026 government guide lists service from 07:00 to midnight, every day, with seven foreign languages. It also gives +82-2-1330 for calls from abroad and lists text and messenger consultation. Use it for tourism information, transport, accommodation, lost-property guidance or communication trouble—not instead of 112 or 119 during an emergency.

1345 is the Korea Immigration Service's Foreign Resident Information Center. Its official page lists weekday consultation from 09:00 to 22:00, with Korean, English and Chinese after 18:00, and +82-2-1345 from abroad. Use it for visas, status of stay and immigration procedures.

Service hours and channels can change. The dates above were checked on 14 September 2026; verify the linked official page when planning a future trip.

Not every difficult situation belongs on an emergency line:

• Government procedure: 110.
• Tourism, transport or accommodation problem: 1330.
• Visa or immigration question: 1345.
• Disease information or suspected infectious disease: 1339.
• Open pharmacy or non-emergency medical facility: search E-Gen and call the facility to confirm.

If the situation changes and someone needs urgent police, fire, rescue or medical response, stop using the non-emergency channel and call 112 or 119.

Frequently asked questions