Each lines operates a lost and found center (분실물 센터, 紛失物 center, bunsilmul senteo - or - 유실물 보관소, 遺失物 保管所, yusilmul bogwanso - or - 분실물 보관소, 紛失物 保管所, bunsilmul bogwanso). Lost items are collected at the very last stop or when the train is pulled off the line as they sometimes pull trains off so they don’t send nearly empty cars all the way to the end of the line. Found items are brought to each corresponding lost and found center. If a predetermined number of days have passed, some of the lines give these unclaimed items to the lost and found division of the police. This dedicated lost and found police website is available in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese.

If you forget an item on a subway car, do not panic. Travel to the nearest subway office or ticket window and provide transit officers on duty with whatever details you can provide. This can include the direction you were traveling and which car you left your belongings in. If possible, the officers will signal the car to retrieve the lost item before the car reaches its destination. If you lost an item on a previous day, staff can inform you where the lost and found center is located and might be able to check remotely to see if they have your item. This is kind of vague information as some lines take pictures of every item and post it on their website, others don’t. And as one of the major operators of line throughout the country is Korail, they opted for simplicity and have one website for all lost and found items pulled off all of their lines.

Below is a list of lost and found offices for every subway line in the country, sorted by city. You’ll notice some lines have multiple offices and some lines have a joint office with another line. Each location has a phone number, but if your Korean isn’t up to a high enough level, get a friend or a co-worker to call on your behalf.

Seoul Metropolitan Area

Busan Subway

Daegu Subway

Daejeon Subway

Gwangju Subway