If you lose something while abroad, you might feel very hopeless because you don't know how to deal with it. Fortunately, if you lose an item in Korea, you can find it through various channels, such as a lost and found center or website.

However, since a lost and found service center or website for foreigners is not operating yet, it is easier to find the item when you can communicate in Korean.

So today, I'm going to tell you how to deal with losing things in Korea and some useful expressions.

Lost Items In Korea

Source: Financial News

In Korea, people rarely take someone else's lost item. It might be due to the etiquette of not touching other people's things recklessly, but it is also because of the CCTVs installed on the streets.

Also, if you take it to report a lost item, you may be mistaken for a thief, so some people leave it there.

However, there are many good citizens who quickly report lost items to nearby police stations or lost and found centers.

Thanks to this, if you lose something in Korea, you can go back to the place you lost it or visit the police station or the lost and found.

Lost Item In Public Facility (Restaurant, Cafe, Etc.)

If lost items are found in public facilities, such as restaurants and cafes, they are stored at the counter. Don't panic, and calmly go back there and ask the staff at the counter.

If a long time has passed since you lost your item, call the restaurant or cafe to explain in detail the time you visited and the item you lost. If the restaurant is storing the item, you can visit in person and receive it.

Contact information for restaurants and cafes can be found by searching on Naver, Kakao, Google Maps, or portal sites. Famous tourist attractions, restaurants, or cafes registered in foreign languages can be easily searched and found on Google Maps.

However, if you can't search in a foreign language, you can find the building directly on the map and find out the contact information.

Lost Item At Tourist Attraction

There are well-equipped lost and found centers at tourist attractions, such as museums, cultural heritage sites, and amusement parks.

If facility workers or other visitors have reported the item, you can visit the center to find it. Don't be discouraged even if you lose things in a large area, like Lotte World and Everland.

In fact, many lost items are reported to the center, and you can also receive them at home because they can be shipped to you.

Lost Item At University

If you are studying abroad at a Korean university, please refer to this tip. Students who find a lost item on the university campus bring it to the school administration office or the lost item department, so you can visit the department or contact the department by phone.

Lost items found in the library may be stored separately at the library counter.

Everytime (에브리타임) App

In addition, many posts about found items are posted on the on-campus community website and Everytime app (both are easy to sign up for after confirming your school).

If you find a post that someone found your lost item, send a direct message to the author of the post, make sure it's yours, meet them in person, and receive the item.

Lost Item On Public Transportation

Source: Joongang Ilbo

Public transportation has a well-equipped lost and found center, so there is a relatively high possibility of finding lost items. I'll tell you how to deal a lost item for each type of public transportation.

Subway 

If you visit the subway customer safety center and explain exactly what you lost, what time you got on and off the subway, and the train car number (written on the floor of the subway platform and screen door) you were boarding, you can track it down quickly.

Based on the information provided, if a worker finds the lost item, you can visit the customer safety center of the subway station where the worker is to receive the item. 

Since other passengers who find lost items often report the item to the lost and found center, it is also helpful to contact the center.

The Seoul subway operates a total of five lost and found centers. Each subway line has a different center, so please refer to this table. All centers are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Source: Yonhap News

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Transportation Corporation, a total of 113,106 lost items have been acquired in a year from November 1, 2019. (Average of about 310 per day)

Of them, 76,903 items, or 68% of lost items, were returned to the owner, so I hope you won't lose hope even if you lose something on the subway.

Bus

Lost items found on the bus are kept in bus companies' garages. Therefore, if you lose something on the bus, you have to call the bus company and inquire about it.

When you call, accurately explaining the type of lost item, the bus number you boarded, the stop you got off at, and the time you got on and off will be of great help in searching for lost items.

The name and contact information of the bus company you boarded can be found by searching for the bus number you boarded in the bus information system (for Seoul).

Search "Bus Information BIS" on a portal site and you will see a lot of websites that provide bus information for other regions.

How To Use The Site (For Seoul)

1. Click bus arrival information (버스도착정보).

2. Enter the bus number you boarded.

3. Contact the phone number written in the information column of the transportation company to ask if they have your item.

4. If they have your lost item, go directly to the garage and get it.

Taxi

The most important thing when you lose something in a taxi is to contact the taxi driver you rode with.

It is important to take a receipt to get the driver's phone number. This is because the receipt contains the taxi company, vehicle number, and the driver's phone number.

In some cases, the driver's phone number is not written, but you can contact the driver by calling the taxi company number on the receipt.

You should explain to the driver or taxi company in as much detail as possible about the item you lost, the time you took and got off the taxi, and where you got off.

Source: IT Joseon / E Daily

If you paid by card in a taxi, you can also contact the smartphone ARS service. There are two types of card readers used by taxis: T-MONEY and CASHBEE.

If the type of card reader you used in your taxi is T-MONEY, call 1644-1188, and if it is CASHBEE, call 1644-1472. However, if you don't remember the type of card reader, you can try both phone numbers.

When you make a phone call, it leads to ARS counseling, and after entering the card number you used to pay for the taxi fare, you can receive the contact information of the taxi company and driver by text message.

Source: ChosunBiz

If you used Kakao Taxi, you can also contact the customer center or Kakao Taxi chatbot to receive the driver's contact information.

Once you find the driver's contact information, text or call the driver, and check and receive your item.

Train

You can go to the station office and report it immediately or contact the railroad customer center (1544-7788) and follow the instructions of the person in charge.

If you tell them the train number, seat, where you got on and off, time and explain the lost item in detail, it will be very helpful when they search for the lost item.

Public Transportation Lost & Found Website

Depending on the type of public transportation, the method of finding lost items varies, so it may feel complicated. However, you can also see the list of lost items on public transportation lost & found site.

There are pictures of lost items and dates and locations they were found, so you can refer to them when searching for lost items.

How To Use The Site

1. Click on the "Obtained Items List" (습득물 리스트) window.

2. Enter where you lost your belongings (습득 장소), object type (습득물), and date (습득일), and press the  search button.

3. Check if they have your lost item on the list.

4. If you find something you lost on the site, text or call the person in charge and pick it up.

LOST112

I explained many courses of action earlier, but the most helpful way is to search through the found items on the LOST112 site operated by the police department.

Lost items found in public places and public transportation facilities will be kept by the police a week after they are found. Therefore, the methods I explained earlier are recommended to try when you have just lost your item and are likely to get it back quickly.

However, if it's been a long time since you've lost your item, or if you've lost it on the streets or bus stations and you're at a loss how to find it, it's helpful to use this site.

This is because it is a site that oversees found items, so you have to search a lot, but the probability of finding your lost item increases.

How To Use The Site

1. Click "Find the owner!" (주인을 찾아요!(습득물))

2. Click the "Find" black box next to the item category and select the type of lost item.

3. Enter the area and time period you lost the item and search.

4. If you find a lost item on the site, contact the corresponding police department's contact information to confirm and go and receive the item.

Lost112 also has a smartphone app. On the app, you can see large pictures of found items, so you can find your belongings faster than on the website. However, unlike the website, you can't search the item type and dates in detail.

If you can't find your belongings on the list of found items, there is also a function to register as a member and report the lost item.

You can choose to receive a text message from the police department if a similar item is found after your loss report is submitted.

You can check the directions and the official manual for the remaining LOST112 services here. (Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese available)

Useful Expressions

Now, I'll tell you some basic words and expressions that can help you communicate with someone who found your lost item or at the lost and found center.

In real life, various other expressions may be used in addition to these expressions, but I hope this will still be of great help to you.

If you go directly to a lost and found center or a place where you lost an item, you have to speak in person, but if you can contact them by text, text is recommended.

This is because it is easier to through text than in person or on the phone. Also, you can send a picture of your item when you explain through text to be more clear.

유실물, 분실물 (Lost Item) / 습득물 (Found Item) / 분실물센터, 유실물센터 (Lost & Found Center) / 보관 중 (In Storage)

여권 (Passport) / 신분증 (ID)  / 핸드폰 (Cell Phone) / 스마트폰 (Smartphone) / 에어팟 (AirPods) / 갤럭시 버즈 (Galaxy Buds) / 지갑 (Wallet) / 가방 (Bag) / 카드 (Card) / 학생증 (Student ID) / 쇼핑백 (Shopping Bag) / 옷 (Clothes)

안녕하세요, X에서 Y을/를 잃어버렸어요.
Hello, I lost Y at X.

안녕하세요, 00시 쯤에 식당을/카페를 방문했는데 물건을 잃어버려서 연락 드렸습니다. 제가 식당/카페에 00을/를 두고 온 것 같은데 혹시 보신적 있으세요?
Hello, I'm contacting you because I visited the restaurant/cafe around 00 o'clock, but I lost an item. I think I left 00 at the restaurant/café. Have you seen it?

안녕하세요, 식당/카페에 00을/를 두고 온 것 같은데, 아직 있나요?
Hello, I think I left 00 at the restaurant/cafe, do you still have it?

안녕하세요, 학교 커뮤니티 / 에브리타임 게시글을 보고 연락 드렸습니다. 보관하고 계신 물건이 제가 잃어버린 물건인 것 같은데 물건을 확인할 수 있을까요?
Hello, I'm contacting you after seeing the school community / Everytime post. I think the item you have is the one I lost, can I check the item?

안녕하세요 기사님, 저는 X월 Y일 Z시 쯤에 기사님의 버스/택시를 탔던 승객입니다. 제가 버스/택시에 00을/를 두고 내렸는데 혹시 이 물건을 보신적 있으가요?
Hello driver, I'm the passenger who took your bus/taxi on X month Y date around Z o'clock. I left 00 in the bus/taxi. Have you seen this item?

저는 00시 00분 쯤에 X역에서 내렸습니다. 제가 탄 버스는 Y번입니다.
I got off at X Station around 00:00. The bus I took is Y.

저는 00시 00분 쯤에 X역에서 내렸습니다. 지하철은 0호선이고, 지하철 칸 번호는 0-0번입니다.
I got off at X Station around 00:00. The subway is line 0, and the subway car number is 0-0.

물건을 받으려면 언제, 어디로 가야하나요?
When and where should I go to pick up the item?

물건을 찾아주셔서 감사합니다.
Thank you for finding the item.

That's all for today's post on how to deal with lost items in Korea.

Of course, we can't guarantee a 100% success rate, but there are various ways to try to find your item, so please be aware of them since they will be useful if you need them.

However, the best thing is to take good care of your belongings, right? I hope you have a safe trip in Korea!