Seoul launches English texting service on city helpline

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.