Older tourist-police listings may be out of date
Older guides and forum posts send visitors to the Tourist Police — navy-uniformed officers in kiosks in Myeongdong (central Seoul's main shopping street, and its cosmetics district), Insadong, Hongdae (the nightlife and student district around Hongik University) and by the palaces. The Korea Times, citing the National Police Agency in January 2026, reports that the unit "was disbanded in 2023 amid a government drive to downsize" and is not being revived: it worked mainly in tourist districts on tasks outside core policing, and the agency cut it. Do not assume that a booth shown in an old guide still offers that service.
What replaced it
The same report describes 23 foreign-affairs teams being placed inside 15 of the country's 28 mobile patrol units in the first half of 2026 — seven in Seoul, eight in southern Gyeonggi, three on Jeju, two in Busan, one each in Incheon, South Chungcheong and South Gyeongsang — to work crime prevention and response wherever foreigners live and visit, students' neighbourhoods included. The report concerns police organisation rather than a new network of tourist information counters. Visitors should use the ordinary police contact routes.
Which number, when
| Situation | Call |
|---|---|
| A crime, a threat, a theft in progress | Call 112 and request language assistance. |
| A fire or a medical emergency | Call 119. |
| Overcharged, a bad tour, a taxi dispute that is not a danger | Contact 1330, the Korea Tourism Organization’s helpline, for help with a non-emergency tourism complaint. Its official page provides phone and messaging options. |
| Lost, need directions or travel help in English | Call 1330 or use the online contact options on the official tourism page. |
| You need help communicating about a non-urgent matter | Ask 1330 or BBB Korea on 1588-5644 about interpretation. They do not replace professional advice or official form instructions. |
KakaoTalk is a messaging app used widely in Korea. Follow the official tourism site’s links to contact its helpline through the app.
BBB Korea is a volunteer telephone-interpretation service. Availability can vary. For an urgent incident, contact 112 or 119 first rather than waiting for a separate interpreter.
