Seoul ’ s citizens wear masks to protect themselves against air pollution Saturday . ( Yonhap ) When Seoul waived public transportation fees last week as part of antipollution emergency measures , Mike Hugo , 31 , a foreign resident who has been working in South Korea since 2009 , also received an “ important notification ” via text message ; only he couldn ’ t read Korean . “ I received notifications of emergency situations on Jan . 14 , 16 and 17 . Of course the messages were in Korean . I had to copy and paste the messages into the Papago app to confirm that it was about fine dust and free public transport , although I ’ m unsure how it works , ” Hugo told The Korea Herald . Hugo said foreign residents here post to local Facebook groups asking what the messages say whenever cities or state official notifications are sent out , including a message last November about the Pohang earthquake , the second - strongest quake ever recorded here that left more than 1 , 500 homeless . “ I think the air pollution in the last few years has become heavier and heavier on people ’ s minds , including for foreign residents . People ask about the security situation with North Korea , but I haven ’ t known anybody who decided to leave Korea based on that , but quite a few leaving or thinking of leaving because of the worsening air quality , even some who had been here more than a decade , ” Hugo added . Amid worsening air quality , the Seoul Metropolitan Government activated the city ’ s free public transport program three times last week , along with other measures including a mandatory alternate no - driving program in the public sector on days when the daily density average of particulate matter exceeds 50 micrometers per cubic meter for two consecutive days . But in the capital city , home to nearly one - third of 2 million residents who came from abroad , foreign residents cry foul over lack of emergency information available in English in the event of natural disasters . Many foreign residents use real - time air quality index site aqicn . org to find out about the level of air pollution instead of relying on government - provided data because they feel they are on their own , according to another long - term foreign resident of Seoul . “ Some foreigners are very bothered indeed . Particularly parents and people who have been here long - term , ” said the man who wished to remain anonymous . “ They are angry because the government seems to continually understate how bad it is . And because of lack of information for foreigners on air pollution , many wrongly believe the Moon Jae - in government blamed China unduly ( for causing air pollution ) when it ’ s really South Korea ’ s fault . Many think it is all coal power plants because Greenpeace told them , when it isn ’ t really . ” Currently , foreigners whose cellphones are not registered to local mobile carriers should download the “ Emergency Ready App ” on their phones in order to receive real - time natural disaster alerts in English . An official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that sends out the emergency notification messages across the country blames “ too many technical barriers ” for preventing the service from being provided for foreign residents and visitors here . “ We need to figure out how to send massages to cellphones that use foreign mobile carriers , ” the official said . By Bak Se - hwan ( sh @ heraldcorp . com ) [ 코리아 헤럴드 ] [ K - POP HERALD ] [ 페이스북 ] <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >