Emergencies & Trouble
Ask for help, report lost items, and handle emergencies.
Emergency Korean is the vocabulary you hope you never need but should know. Key emergency numbers: 112 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance. Both have English service available, but knowing the Korean phrasing speeds up the response. Core phrases: 도와주세요 (please help), 응급차 불러 주세요 (please call an ambulance), 경찰 불러 주세요 (please call the police), 잃어버렸어요 (I lost it), 도둑맞았어요 (I was robbed).
For lost items, Korean lost-and-found systems are remarkably effective. 분실물 센터 (lost and found centre) at any subway station can help; the Korean Lost & Found portal (lost112.go.kr) aggregates reports across Seoul. Most public transport drivers will hand in items found on board within a day. The cultural assumption is that the lost item will be returned, and statistically it usually is — Korea has one of the highest rates of returned lost items in the world.
~았/었어요 + Context — Describing What Happened
Use past tense to explain your situation in emergencies. Combine with descriptive details: what you lost, where it happened, when it occurred.
~(으)ㄹ 수 있다 + Emergency Vocabulary
Combine ability expressions with emergency words to ask for help: '영어 할 수 있는 사람 있어요?' (Is there someone who can speak English?)