I-EUMLiving in Korea

Disaster text alerts — they only come in Korean. Prepare in advance so you can read them

This page is machine translated from Ieumi's guide written in Korean. If the meaning is confusing, please look at the Korean original text. View original text (Korean)

Disaster text alerts for earthquakes, heavy rain, heat waves, missing persons, and the like arrive on your phone automatically, but in Korean. Keep reception turned on, and also have the government app that delivers them in your language.

📌 Key points

There are three types of disaster text alerts. Critical disaster alerts (air raid, alert warnings, etc.) come with the loudest sound and cannot be turned off. Emergency disaster alerts and safety guidance alerts can be turned on and off in your phone settings. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's app for foreigners, "Emergency Ready App," shows the same disaster alerts in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese, and even shows the locations of nearby shelters and hospitals.

🔢 Do these in order

  1. Check in your phone's messaging app settings whether "disaster text alerts" (or "emergency alerts") is turned on. On iPhone, it's Settings → Notifications, at the very bottom: "Government Alerts."
  2. Install "Emergency Ready App" from the app store and choose your language. The same disaster alerts will arrive in that language, and you can view nearby shelters and hospitals on the map.
  3. Learn the words that appear often: 대피 (evacuate — move to a safe place) · 호우 (heavy rain) · 폭염 (heat wave) · 한파 (cold wave) · 지진 (earthquake) · 실종 (missing — a person is being searched for) · 해제 (lifted — it's over).
  4. When a text arrives, check the region and time first. If it's not your region, it may not concern you. If it says "evacuate," follow the shelter map in the app.
  5. In an emergency, call 119 (fire, rescue, medical emergency) or 112 (crime). If Korean is difficult, 119 can connect a three-way call with the Tourist Information hotline (1330) or the Immigration Contact Center (1345) for interpretation.

📞 Contact

Ministry of the Interior and Safety — Safety Stepping Stone · Emergency Ready App (for foreigners) · National Disaster and Safety Portal

💻 Do it online

The app name and supported languages are based on Ministry of the Interior and Safety guidance (confirmed 2026-09-13). More languages may be added.

⚠️ Things to watch out for

Older phones that can't receive disaster alerts can still get the same alerts through the "Safety Stepping Stone" or "Emergency Ready App" apps (Ministry of the Interior and Safety). You can look up shelters in your neighborhood in advance on the National Disaster and Safety Portal.

❗ What happens if you don't

If disaster alerts are turned off or you can't read them, you may stay put even when told to evacuate. Critical disaster alerts cannot be turned off, but many people leave emergency and safety guidance alerts off and forget about it.

See also

Basis

  • 재난 및 안전관리 기본법 제38조의2 — 법제처 API 원문(MST 282883, 시행 2026-07-22) 2026-09-13 수집·대조
  • 행정안전부 안전디딤돌 안내 https://www.mois.go.kr/frt/sub/a06/b11/safetyStep/screen.do — 2026-09-13 확인(Emergency Ready App: 영어·중국어·베트남어·태국어·일본어 · 대피소·병원 · 스토어 설치)
  • 대한민국 정책브리핑 「긴급재난문자, 이렇게 설정하세요」 https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148822366 (2016-09-30) — 위급은 끌 수 없음 · 긴급·안전안내는 설정 · 옛 폰은 앱
  • 119 외국인 안내 https://www.119.go.kr/Center119/Foreign.do — 2026-09-13 확인(24시간 응급의학 전문의 의료상담 · 1330·1345 3자 통화)

This content was checked on 2026-09-13.

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