Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Seoul launches playbook to help call centers deal with hostile callers
A dual-language edition of the 120 Dasan Call Foundation’s desktop playbook, published in English and Korean to help operators handle abusive callers and serve international visitors. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Jhoo Dong-chan
For millions of Seoul residents, dialing 120 connects them to a 24-hour lifeline for city transit schedules, social welfare inquiries and municipal services. But behind the scenes, answering the phone can also mean confronting severe verbal abuse, sexual harassment and hostile callers.
To protect these frontline workers — and meet surging global demand for its call-center operation protocols — the city-run 120 Dasan Call Foundation said Friday that it published a tactical desktop response playbook alongside a dedicated English edition.
The decision to launch an English version follows a steady stream of visits to the foundation from public sector officials representing Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, Romania and Iran. By codifying its emotional-labor protections into a multilanguage resource, Seoul aims to pioneer a standardized international framework for protecting public service personnel against caller hostility.
Public call center workers in Korea have long faced steep emotional labor demands, often expected to endure extreme rudeness under the traditional mantle of public service. The foundation's new protocol, titled the Unusual Complaint Handling Response Script, seeks to end that passive culture by establishing a structured, five-step response framework: offering an empathetic alternative, requesting self-restraint, issuing a formal termination warning, disconnecting the line and triggering direct supervisor intervention.
Unlike conventional administrative manuals that gather dust on office shelves, the new guide is engineered for split-second tactical application during active calls. Printed in a compact desktop flip-calendar format, it allows operators to instantly flip to scripted responses, deescalation steps and legal boundary warnings without losing momentum.
"This script serves as an active safety net," said Lee Yi-jae, chairman of the 120 Dasan Call Foundation. "By establishing practical standards to manage hostile callers, we are safeguarding our staff's mental well-being while ensuring that respectful citizens receive faster, higher-quality public assistance."
The playbook categorizes problematic interactions into distinct operational tiers, ranging from mild discourtesy to unlawful intimidation. It offers tailored scripts for recurring high-stress scenarios, such as callers demanding to speak exclusively to senior executives, issuing threats of litigation or calling repeatedly to vent personal frustrations.
Crucially, the guide moves beyond verbal scripts by outlining institutional legal safeguards. If a caller crosses legal lines, the foundation's special review committee can enforce calling restrictions and initiate formal legal action on behalf of the affected employee. The foundation said the dual-language manual will serve as core training material for all new hires and is available for public download via the foundation's official web portal.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.