How to find a lost item on the Korean subway

Items left on the subway are usually found — carriages are checked at the end of the line, and each operator runs a Lost & Found center. The trick is contacting the right line's center with a few key details.

Step 1: Note your line, time, and car

Recovery is much faster if you can say which line you rode, roughly when, the direction/last station, and ideally the car number (printed inside each carriage). Staff use these to pull your item quickly.

Step 2: Contact that line's Lost & Found center

Each city — and in Seoul, each group of lines — has its own desk:

• Seoul Metro lost and found — Lines 1–8
• Busan subway (Humetro) lost and found

Every Korean metro's contacts are in the subway directory.

Step 3: If it's not at the center yet, check LOST112 (now 경찰민원24)

Found items are typically held at the operator's center for a few days, then transferred to police, where they appear on LOST112 (now the integrated police lost-property system, 경찰민원24 — minwon24.police.go.kr). Search by date, area, and item type.

How long you have

Most operators hold items at the center for about a week before handing them to police, who keep them for months before they pass to the national treasury. Call within a day or two for the best chance.

Dealing with it in Korean?

Center staff largely operate in Korean. If that's a barrier — or you've left the country — we can trace and recover the item and ship it to you.