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In a Seoul emergency, call 119 for an ambulance or a fire and 112 for the police. Those two numbers, covering three services, appear in the UK government's South Korea getting help page (FCDO travel advice, retrieved 2026-11-03). The same page lists the 1330 tourism line and describes three-way emergency interpretation through it. Interpretation can help you during an emergency call. Dispatch of ambulance, fire crews or officers stays with 119 and 112, so dial the emergency number first.
Which number fits the situation
The FCDO page lists the numbers by service. Match the service you need and dial that number.
| What's happening | Service you need | Number (South Korea, per FCDO, retrieved 2026-11-03) |
|---|---|---|
| Someone needs urgent medical help | Ambulance | 119 |
| Fire or smoke | Fire service | 119 |
| Crime, assault, theft in progress or a threat from a person | Police | 112 |
| Language help during an emergency | Three-way interpretation | 1330 (interpretation support; dispatch stays with 119/112) |
If a medical problem and a crime happen together, such as an injury from an assault, call the number for the most urgent need and tell the dispatcher the other part. The dispatcher decides what to send. You report what you see.
What to tell the dispatcher
The sequence below is editorial guidance. The FCDO source supplies the numbers and support roles, and it sets out no call script.
Give the location first. Say the street address if you have it, then a landmark: a building name, a shop sign, a subway station name and exit number, or a hotel name. Korean addresses written in Hangul, such as those on hotel key cards or receipts, can be read aloud or shown to a passer-by who can relay them.
Next, describe what happened in plain terms: how many people are involved, whether someone is breathing and awake, whether there's fire, smoke or a weapon. Describe what you observe and leave assessment to the professionals. Stay on the line and follow the dispatcher's instructions.
The FCDO page makes no promise about the language the call will be answered in or how quickly. Plan for a short exchange: address, landmark, what happened. If language becomes a barrier, the 1330 three-way interpretation described on the FCDO page is one option to bring in.
Consular and pharmacy roles
Two other kinds of help exist around a Seoul trip, and each does a different job.
- Consular assistance is separate and nationality-specific. The FCDO describes services for British people; your own country's embassy or consulate sets the help available to you. Contact it for matters such as a lost passport or an arrest.
- Pharmacies handle everyday, non-urgent health shopping and general pharmacist conversation. A pharmacy isn't a destination for an emergency.
On an ordinary shopping day in Seongsu or Myeongdong, PVRE Pharmacy, listed officially as PURE PHARMACY, is one place to browse health and beauty products. Its store page describes putting the conversation with the pharmacist first and lists addresses at 서울특별시 성동구 성수이로20길 3 (Seongsu) and 서울특별시 중구 명동8길 41 (Myeongdong). That general conversation is separate from emergency dispatch, interpretation, consular help, insurance or any medical diagnosis, which stay with 119, 112, 1330, your embassy and licensed clinicians.
A suggested plan if you travel with someone
This is a planning suggestion with no guarantee of how a call will go. Agree before the trip that if something serious happens, one person calls 119 or 112 and the other works on location: reading the nearest street sign, checking a map app, or finding a staff member at a shop or station who can confirm the address. Save your hotel's address in Korean on both phones, along with 1330 for interpretation. Note your embassy's contact details separately.
Evidence and criteria
- Emergency numbers: ambulance 119, fire 119, police 112, from the UK FCDO South Korea getting help page, retrieved 2026-11-03. Scope: South Korea, as described in UK travel advice.
- Tourism line: the same FCDO page lists 1330 and describes three-way emergency interpretation; dispatch remains with 119 and 112.
- Consular assistance: the FCDO states it is separate and nationality-specific, and its described services apply to British people.
- The source gives no medical diagnosis, language-response-time guarantee or hospital-cost promise, and this article adds none.
- Store facts (name, pharmacist-conversation concept, Seongsu and Myeongdong addresses) come from the PURE PHARMACY official stores page, retrieved 2026-11-03. It confirms no stock, prices, hours or emergency role.
- The dispatcher-detail sequence and the companion plan are editorial organization, separate from the cited facts.