Seoul launches English texting service on city helpline

Seoul’s 120 Dasan Call Foundation will launch an English text-messaging service for foreign residents and tourists at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Users can text 02-120 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for real-time guidance on daily life and city services, with standard messaging fees applying. The foundation is upgrading the service ahead of World Youth Day 2027, when international attendees can use it to find transportation, safety and emergency medical information.

The 120 Dasan Call Center was established in September 2007 to consolidate Seoul’s public service helplines into one three-digit number.

Since 2010, the center has offered telephone assistance in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Mongolian through 02-120 and option 9.

The center handles an average of more than 20,000 foreign-language inquiries annually.

The foundation plans to add multilingual content to its official social media channels, including Instagram and its blog.

World Youth Day 2027 is scheduled to take place in Seoul in August 2027, and the gathering is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims to the capital.

Published Nov 2, 2026 1:52 pm KST

New mobile messaging feature at 120 offers real-time municipal assistance for non-Korean speakers

A promotional image of Seoul's 120 Dasan Call Center's English text messaging service / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Foreign residents and tourists in Seoul can now text their questions in English to the capital’s central municipal helpline, city officials announced Monday.

The 120 Dasan Call Foundation, an agency operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, will launch the English mobile messaging service at 9 a.m. Tuesday, expanding on its existing foreign-language telephone hotlines.

The text-based consultation service operates on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Users can text inquiries directly to 02-120 from a mobile phone to receive real-time guidance on daily life and city infrastructure, ranging from public transit routes to municipal water service updates.

While the helpline service itself is free, standard text-messaging fees apply according to the user’s mobile plan provider. Outside regular operating hours, foreign residents can access alternative support networks, such as the government-backed Danuri Call Center, which assists multicultural families and international residents.

Established in September 2007 during Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s first term in office, the 120 Dasan Call Center consolidated the city’s previously fragmented public service helplines into a single, centralized three-digit hotline: 120. The center takes its name from Dasan, the pen name of Jeong Yak-yong (1762–1836), a prominent Joseon-era scholar celebrated for his reformist theories on public administration and citizen-centric governance.

The call center provides round-the-clock phone consultations 365 days a year, alongside sign language interpretation and Korean text messaging. Since 2010, the center has offered telephone assistance in five foreign languages — English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Mongolian — accessible by dialing 02-120 and pressing option 9. The center processes an average of more than 20,000 foreign-language inquiries annually.

To further assist international visitors and residents, the foundation plans to introduce multilingual content across its official social media channels, including Instagram and its blog, which previously operated primarily in Korean.

The agency is also upgrading its mobile messaging infrastructure in preparation for World Youth Day 2027, a major international Catholic gathering scheduled to bring hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims to the Korean capital in August 2027. During the event, international attendees will be able to use the text service to access critical information on local transportation, safety guidelines and emergency medical facilities.

“Building on our years of operational experience, we will support major international gatherings and serve as a reliable guide not only for Seoul residents but also for visitors from around the world,” said Song Ju-beom, chairman of the 120 Dasan Call Foundation.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

首尔120大山呼叫基金会将于周二上午9点推出面向外国居民和游客的英文短信服务。用户可在工作日上午9点至下午6点发送短信至02-120，获取日常生活和城市服务的实时指导，短信费用按标准收取。该基金会正在为2027年世界青年日升级服务，届时国际参与者可以使用该服务查询交通、安全和紧急医疗信息。

120 大山呼叫中心于 2007 年 9 月成立，旨在将首尔的公共服务热线合并为一个三位数号码。

自 2010 年以来，该中心通过 02-120 和选项 9 提供英语、中文、日语、越南语和蒙古语的电话协助。

该中心每年平均处理超过 20,000 个外语咨询。

该基金会计划在其官方社交媒体渠道（包括 Instagram 和博客）中添加多语言内容。

2027 年世界青年日定于 2027 年 8 月在首尔举行，预计将有数十万青年朝圣者涌入首都。

发布于2026年11月2日下午1:52（韩国标准时间）

120推出的全新移动消息功能可为非韩语人士提供实时市政服务。

首尔120大山呼叫中心英文短信服务的宣传图片 / 图片由首尔市政府提供

首尔市政府官员周一宣布，在首尔的外国居民和游客现在可以用英语向首都中央市政服务热线发送短信咨询问题。

由首尔市政府运营的120 Dasan Call基金会将于周二上午9点推出英文手机短信服务，这是对其现有外语电话热线的扩展。

短信咨询服务在工作日上午 9 点至下午 6 点运行。用户可以通过手机直接发送短信至 02-120 进行咨询，以获取有关日常生活和城市基础设施的实时指导，内容涵盖公共交通路线、市政供水服务更新等。

虽然热线服务本身免费，但短信费用根据用户的手机套餐提供商而定。在正常服务时间之外，外国居民可以使用其他支持网络，例如政府支持的丹努里呼叫中心，该中心为多元文化家庭和国际居民提供帮助。

首尔市长吴世勋第一任期于 2007 年 9 月成立了 120 大山呼叫中心，将首尔此前分散的公共服务热线整合为一个集中的三位数热线：120。该中心以大山命名，大山是朝鲜时代著名学者郑若镛（1762-1836）的笔名，他因其在公共行政和以公民为中心的治理方面的改革理论而闻名。

该呼叫中心全年365天、每天24小时提供电话咨询服务，同时还提供手语翻译和韩语短信服务。自2010年以来，该中心提供五种外语（英语、中文、日语、越南语和蒙古语）的电话咨询服务，用户只需拨打02-120并按选项9即可。该中心每年平均处理超过2万个外语咨询。

为了进一步帮助国际游客和居民，该基金会计划在其官方社交媒体渠道（包括 Instagram 和博客）上推出多语言内容，此前该基金会的官方社交媒体渠道主要以韩语运营。

该机构还在升级其移动信息基础设施，为2027年世界青年日做准备。世界青年日是一项重要的国际天主教盛会，预计将于2027年8月吸引数十万青年朝圣者来到韩国首都。活动期间，国际与会者将能够使用短信服务获取有关当地交通、安全指南和紧急医疗设施的重要信息。

“凭借我们多年的运营经验，我们将为大型国际集会提供支持，并成为首尔居民以及来自世界各地的游客的可靠指南，”120 Dasan Call 基金会主席宋柱范表示。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。