Understanding disaster alerts

Korea sends emergency alerts to your phone. You need to be able to read them.

Three levels

• Critical alerts — the most serious: air raids, severe disasters. They sound even on silent.
• Emergency alerts — earthquakes, evacuation orders. They sound even on silent.
• Safety notices — heavy rain, heatwave, infectious disease advisories. These can be turned off in settings.

Don't be alarmed by the loud sound. It is there for your safety.

Receiving them in your language

1. Install the Safety Diddimdol app — the official Ministry of the Interior and Safety app.
2. Set your language in the app. Several languages are supported.
3. You get alerts, shelter information and action guidance together.
4. Also check the National Disaster Safety Portal www.safekorea.go.kr.

You can also photograph a Korean alert with a translation app camera.

Common terms

• 대피 — evacuate
• 호우 · 홍수 — heavy rain, flood
• 폭염 · 한파 — heatwave, cold wave
• 지진 — earthquake
• 산사태 — landslide
• 외출 자제 — avoid going out
• 저지대·하천 접근 금지 — do not approach low-lying areas or rivers

When an alert arrives

1. Identify what the disaster is.
2. Check whether your location is affected.
3. Follow the action guidance. If it says evacuate, evacuate immediately.
4. Tell family and colleagues.
5. If unsure, ask 119 or your community centre.

Where to go

• Safety Diddimdol app (multilingual)
• National Disaster Safety Portal www.safekorea.go.kr
• 119 rescue · 112 danger
• Your local community service centre
• 1577-1366 · 1345 interpretation

Questions people ask

I get too many alerts. Safety notices can be turned off in settings, but critical and emergency alerts cannot. They are tied directly to life safety. Don't turn them off.

I can't read Korean. Install the Safety Diddimdol app and set your language. That is the surest solution.

The loud sound at night startled me. It is deliberately loud to signal an emergency. Check the content and act if needed.

It doesn't seem to be my area. Alerts go out by administrative district, so they cover a wide area. Still, stay alert if the area is nearby.

Take care

Getting into the habit of ignoring alerts is the greatest danger. When an evacuation notice arrives, move immediately. Install the Safety Diddimdol app today and set your own language, and the next alert will make sense straight away.

Related

evacuation-shelters · flood-emergency · typhoon-emergency · earthquake-emergency · emergency-app

Source

Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Disaster Safety Portal www.safekorea.go.kr / As of 2026-08