Emergency Evacuation

The Four Steps of an Evacuation

There are four steps in an evacuation: Standfast, Assembly, Relocation, and actual Evacuation.

STEP 1: Standfast

In an emergency, when the situation could be dangerous or out of control, the best strategy is often to "stand fast" in the relative safety of home until conditions are more conducive to safe or protected travel. Under no circumstances should U.S. citizens attempt to reach an assembly point or evacuation area until they have heard through official channels that they should do so.

STEP 2: Assembly

If the Embassy determines that evacuation from Korea is required, instructions will be broadcast over AFN-K radio and television.  Do not attempt to telephone the Embassy or the U.S. military; listen to the radio or television.

When you hear the evacuation call, you should:

• Collect your family members, your emergency supplies, and all your documents.
• Proceed immediately to the nearest Evacuation Control Center (ECC) as directed by U.S. government officials.  The number of ECCs actually opened might vary, depending on circumstances.
• At the Evacuation Control Center, you must prove your eligibility for evacuation by showing the identification that pertains to you. After admittance, you must fill out a form that gives necessary information about you and your family and enters you into the evacuation data system.  You will then pass to a staging area for manifesting and transportation.

STEP 3: Relocation

After assembly, most evacuees can expect to be relocated to points further south in Korea before they are evacuated. You may be relocated by military vehicles, chartered buses, trains, or other modes of transportation.  Convoys may be controlled and escorted by U.S. and/or Korean military authorities.

If USFK is assisting with the evacuation, military personnel will try to provide limited food, shelter, and medical services, but conditions will be austere and services extremely limited. You may have to rely on the supplies you have carried with you and accept inconvenience and discomfort in return for safe relocation and evacuation.

STEP 4: Actual Evacuation

After arrival at a relocation center and confirmation of your eligibility for evacuation by an Embassy or military representative, you will be moved to an evacuation point and from there, either by ship or air, to a safaehaven.  In most cases, you will not be able to select your point of arrival in the U.S., so you may have to complete your travel on your own.

Private American citizens will be required to sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the cost of transportation.  The charge for an evacuation will generally approximate the cost of a same-day commercial fare.

There may be one or more transit stops on the way home. These stops may last a very short period of time, even to the point of never leaving the aircraft, but you should also be prepared to accommodate a layover of several days if the situation dictates.

For American Citizen Services (ACS) inquiries, please e-mail us at: seoul_acs@state.gov.

ACS may also be contacted by telephone at 02-397-4114 or by fax at 02-397-4101.

This is an official U.S. Government source for information on the internet. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents.

The U.S. Embassy is closed on both U.S. and Korean holidays.

Updated November 27, 2007