If someone is in danger, call 119 for an ambulance, fire or rescue, or 112 for police. The rest of this guide is for less clear-cut moments, and it keeps to what Korean official pages say. Where they say nothing, it says so instead of guessing.
The mistake to avoid is carrying over the number from home. Korea’s numbers are 119 and 112, and no official page this guide relies on says that dialling 911, or calling from a foreign SIM or a roaming phone, reaches them. Treat that as unconfirmed. SIM or eSIM covers the local-number side.
This guide says whom to call and where to look, not what a symptom means or which medicine to take. It reads official pages as of 5 October 2026.
The first call: 119 or 112
The police’s own English page lists the numbers side by side: crime report 112, fire, accidents and rescue 119, foreign tourist information 1330, and the Immigration Contact Center for foreigners 1345. No source on record explains why the ambulance number is 119, so this guide does not try.
The 119 ambulance is free. The fire agency’s Korean page says the fire service’s ambulance is free anywhere in the country, in every case, whatever the distance or the number of patients, and that it sends the one from the station nearest to the patient. Seoul’s English page for foreign nationals says the same of its 119 ambulance. The fire agency’s English Public EMS page does not state it.
Ambulances run by private operators or by hospitals are different: the same page says they charge a fee, and this guide found no official amount.
If you cannot speak, the fire agency has accepted reports by text message, photo, the 119 reporting app and video call. Whether a text from a foreign or roaming number reaches 119 is not established in any source here, so do not make it your plan.
119 may decline some requests. Under the decree behind the 119 service, a crew may decline a dispatch request from a person who is not an emergency patient, in 7 listed cases, and the crew weighs history, symptoms and surroundings before deciding. That is a dispatch rule, not a symptom checklist. If you are unsure, call.
Choosing an ER. Korean emergency centres come at several levels, designated by different authorities, from the Minister of Health and Welfare down to the mayor or district head. The health ministry urged people with milder symptoms, in September 2024, to use a smaller emergency room (지역응급의료기관) or a local clinic first, and said 119 takes a patient to a hospital suited to how serious the case is. No source says a patient in an ambulance picks. If you are getting yourself to an ER, the National Emergency Medical Center’s finder lists each ER’s level, phone number and live status. It is Korean only; the centre’s English site has no finder, so use your browser’s translation.
Getting English on the line
No single line covers everything.
- 1330, the Korea Travel Helpline (Korea Tourism Organization). Tourist information, interpretation and complaints, year-round, by phone in 8 languages and by chat in 4; English is on both lists. Dial 1330 in Korea or +82-2-1330 from abroad. The operator’s own standard gives no hours for English, and the disease-control agency’s Korean page describes a shorter window, between 07:00 and midnight, so treat night-time English cover as unconfirmed. The police’s English page sends foreign tourists to 1330. This guide could not confirm any Tourist Police unit or phone, because the police pages that should list them returned a server error.
- 112, police. Korea.net reported in March 2024 that the police’s interpretation service, in English and Chinese, now runs around the clock. That is a restatement; the police’s own wording was not read.
- 119, fire and ambulance. Seoul’s page lists English, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian and Vietnamese for its 119 and says the service runs 24/7; the page is undated. No national page on record states 119’s languages or hours.
- 1345, Ministry of Justice. Weekdays 09:00 to 22:00, with only Korean, English and Chinese after 18:00; neither language edition gives weekend or holiday hours. Dial 1345 inside Korea. From abroad, both editions list +82-2-1345 (the English page’s body also shows +82-1345).
- 1339, disease control. KDCA runs 1339 as a disease-consultation and infectious-disease reporting line, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, toll-free inside Korea. It is not an ambulance line, even though an older city tourism page still calls it an emergency medical line. Send a medical emergency to 119.
- Seoul only. The Seoul Global Center runs a Medical Referral Service by email, with English-speaking, medically trained staff, which its page describes as a 24-hour service. Whether it still answers around the clock is not confirmed. Seoul’s medical interpretation scheme is for residents, not visitors.
When it is not an emergency: pharmacies, clinics and convenience stores
Convenience-store medicines. Korea lets registered shops sell a short government-designated list of medicines outside pharmacies, in 4 kinds: fever and pain relievers, digestives, cold medicines and pain patches. The Ministry of Health and Welfare says the scheme exists for buying medicine on holidays and at night, when pharmacies are closed. The seller must run a store open 24 hours a day all year, sells one package per product per sale, and may not sell to children under 12. The Korean term is 안전상비의약품. The list may change, so read the ministry’s table; this guide cannot say which product suits which complaint.
Late-night and holiday pharmacies. The Pharmaceutical Affairs Act lets local governments designate a public late-night pharmacy (공공심야약국) that sells medicine late at night and on public holidays. Seoul’s page gives 22:00 to 01:00 for its own; this guide’s sources give no window for other cities. Two finders exist, both Korean only: the National Emergency Medical Center’s, which says to phone before visiting because hours can change, and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association’s 휴일지킴이약국 site. A 2023 government briefing also says non-prescription medicines cost the same by day and night.
Prescription or not. The Act defines over-the-counter drugs as those expected to be safe and effective without a prescription, and every other drug as a prescription drug. This guide cannot say which side a particular medicine falls on, and found no source on antibiotics.
Children at night. The 달빛어린이병원 network is made up of clinics and hospitals that see children at night and on holidays. The National Emergency Medical Center lists them with address, phone and live status, again in Korean only. The page’s banner says “until midnight” and asks you to check each hospital’s hours first. The site count changes and two official figures differ, so none is printed here.
Adults at night. No source on record describes a night clinic scheme for adults, or what happens at a clinic desk when an uninsured visitor walks in. That is a gap. For public holidays, the health ministry said in September 2024 that clinics open over a holiday can be found by area on the national emergency medical portal (응급의료포털, Korean), and that 119 can tell you which are open. Otherwise use the emergency centre finder, or call 119 in an emergency.
What it costs without Korean insurance
You are outside the national scheme. The National Health Insurance Service’s page for foreigners lists B (tourist) and C (short-term) visa holders among those not enrolled, and Seoul’s English insurance page says the same. The Korea Tourism Organization’s medical-travel Q&A, written for people planning treatment, says non-resident foreign patients are not eligible for Korean insurance coverage and points them to their own provider or insurer. The NHIS English guidance page omits the exclusion; the policy-centre page states it. Our recommendation, not an official one: check what your own travel or health insurance covers before you fly.
Why the 90% figure is not your bill. Since September 2024, mild or non-emergency patients treated at the largest emergency centres pay 90% of the ER bill, but that is a co-payment share for patients insured under National Health Insurance. It does not describe what a short-term visitor pays.
No official price on record. No official source this guide relies on states what an uninsured visitor is charged for a clinic visit, an ER stay or an admission, so none is printed here. Under the Medical Service Act, institutions must notify patients of the costs for items outside National Health Insurance cover, so that patients can easily know them, and may not charge more than they notified. This guide cannot say whether that rule reaches a visitor’s whole bill. Where care is not urgent, ask what a visit will cost before you agree to it.
If you cannot pay for emergency care. HIRA runs an emergency-payment advance scheme (응급대지급제도): the state pays the hospital and later recovers the money from the patient. It is a loan, not free care. HIRA’s page draws no line by nationality and an older ministry page says it applies to emergency patients regardless of nationality. Neither says how repayment works for a visitor who has left the country, so ask the hospital before relying on it. For paying generally, see paying in Korea.
Records for your insurer. Under the Medical Service Act any patient may ask for a copy of their own medical records, and the institution may not refuse without a justifiable reason. Whether a visitor is owed a receipt or an itemised bill is not established, so ask for both.
Bringing your own medicines
Controlled medicines need approval before you fly. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety says anyone entering Korea with medicines containing controlled substances needs its permit, regardless of nationality, and that online application has been open since 27 December 2024. Its English line is +82-43-719-1564. The Korean consulate in Osaka, restating that guidance, says processing takes 10 working days, so apply at least 10 working days before entry; the approved period is capped at 90 days and matched to your travel dates; at most 5 days of spare stock is allowed; prescription medicines go in cabin baggage only; they may not be sent by post; and nobody may carry them in for someone else. A consulate restatement ranks below the ministry’s own text, so read the ministry’s manual too.
Which ingredients. Customs’ table of controlled ingredients names, among others, codeine, morphine, oxycodone, tapentadol and methadone; methylphenidate and amphetamine isomers; and dextromethorphan, alprazolam and zolpidem. Check the active ingredient on your label against that table, not the brand. Customs also lists brands it has seized, but its table is built on ingredients, so a brand name alone does not settle it.
If yours is a stimulant. Whether an amphetamine-based medicine can be approved is not stated in anything this guide relies on. Customs says carrying controlled medicine for self-treatment is possible with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval, so apply, and do not assume the answer. The guide cannot confirm the outcome. It found no traveller rule for pseudoephedrine either.
Ordinary medicines. Incheon customs says medicines for personal use clear customs up to 6 bottles or a 3-month supply by the label’s dosage, and the Osaka consulate says they count within the duty-free allowance. Korean customs’ page gives that allowance as USD 800. Its English FAQ still says USD 600, which is out of date.
Cannabis and CBD. Incheon customs says every kind of cannabis product, CBD oil included, brings criminal penalties on entry, and the ministry says CBD counts as cannabis whatever part of the plant it comes from. Leave all of it at home. Entry paperwork is a separate task: see the K-ETA arrival card.
Before you fly
Put 119, 112 and 1330 in your phone, with your insurer’s emergency number. Decide how you will place a call in Korea; the apps guide covers the rest of your phone setup. If you carry a controlled medicine, apply early and keep it in your cabin bag.