Setting up emergency reporting apps in advance

Looking for the app during an emergency is too late. Install it now and open it once.

When you use it

• When you cannot make a sound (the person harming you is nearby)
• When explaining your location in Korean is hard
• When you have a hearing or speech disability
• When you are in the mountains, at sea or somewhere unfamiliar

Steps

1. Install the 112 and 119 reporting apps. Search "112" and "119" in your app store.
2. Set location permission to "Always". This is the point of the app.
3. Open it once to learn the screen. Do not actually press the report button.
4. Tell your family and colleagues about it too.
5. Check that emergency calls work from the lock screen.

What you need

• A smartphone with data or Wi-Fi
• Location (GPS) permission granted

Where to go

• 112 police · 119 fire and ambulance
• #1388 youth text counselling
• 1345 · 1577-1366 interpreted advice

Questions people ask

Which is faster, the app or a call? If you can speak, calling is faster. The app is for when you cannot speak or cannot describe where you are.

What if I have no data? Calls to 112 and 119 work without data. Emergency calls connect even without a SIM.

I pressed the report button by mistake. Don't hang up — say it was a mistake. If you just hang up they may call back or dispatch a unit.

Take care

Turning off location permission removes the whole benefit. Don't disable it to save battery. Keeping a power bank so your phone does not die is also preparation.

Related

emergency-numbers · emergency-text · my-location · call-112

Source

National Fire Agency www.nfa.go.kr / Korean National Police Agency www.police.go.kr / As of 2026-08