Staying safe in Korea: scams, emergencies and alerts
Korea is one of the safest places to travel, but foreigners still get caught by job scams, account scams and phone fraud. Emergency numbers and what to do.
Korea is very safe. You can walk home at night, leave your phone on a café table and take the last subway without worrying. The real risks for working holiday makers are scams, not street crime.
Emergency numbers
| Number | What for |
|---|---|
| 112 | Police |
| 119 | Ambulance and fire |
| 1330 | Korea Travel Hotline: help and interpreting, 24 hours, English available |
| 1345 | Immigration and visa help, English available |
| 1350 | Work problems: unpaid wages, unfair treatment |
You can call 112 and 119 from any phone, even without a SIM. Both can connect an interpreter.
Scams that target foreigners
Account lending or “easy money” jobs
Someone offers you money to open a bank account, lend your card, or “receive and transfer” money for them. This is used for fraud, and you can be charged with a crime, lose your bank account and be deported. Never do it, however friendly the person is.
Fake job ads
- Asks you to pay a fee, deposit or “training cost” up front
- Promises very high pay for a vague job
- Wants your passport or ARC to “keep safe”
- Asks you to work without a contract or in a job your visa doesn’t allow
See Which jobs can you do on an H-1 visa?
Phone scams (voice phishing)
Callers pretend to be the police, the prosecutor’s office, immigration or your bank and say there’s a problem with your account or visa. Real officials never ask you to transfer money or give them your bank passwords over the phone. Hang up and call the official number yourself.
Housing scams
Never send a deposit for a room you haven’t seen, or to someone who isn’t the owner or a registered agent. See Goshiwon vs share house.
Nights out
- Watch your drink and don’t leave it alone, as you would anywhere.
- Check prices before you order in bars where staff sit with you or bring food you didn’t ask for.
- Taxis: use Kakao T so the trip is recorded.
- Drunk driving and drugs are punished very severely in Korea. Even small amounts of cannabis can mean prison and deportation, and Korean law can apply to use abroad too.
Natural hazards
- Emergency alerts arrive as loud text messages, usually in Korean. The Emergency Ready app (안전디딤돌) shows them in English.
- Summer: heat waves and typhoons, mainly July to September.
- Spring: fine dust and yellow dust. Wear a KF94 mask on bad days.
- Winter: icy pavements and very cold winds.
If something goes wrong
- Lost item: Korea’s lost-and-found system works well. Ask the station, bus company or police. Many things come back.
- Robbery or assault: call 112, then get a police report for insurance.
- Lost passport: report it to the police and contact your embassy.
- Trouble with your employer: call 1350, or ask the Seoul Global Center for help.