The present study was conducted to investigate the public awareness level of the Korean population on the hazards of radon. Its purpose was to serve as a preliminary study for the development of a risk communication program suited to Korean domestic conditions. An in-house developed questionnaire was used as an awareness surveying tool. Five thousand people (adults) from the general population, randomly selected regardless of their age, academic background, income level, and regional distribution were surveyed. The survey was conducted between December 2015 and February 2016, and completed in a self-reporting format. The survey results showed that public awareness of the radon risk was very low, as indicated by more than roughly 85% of the respondents saying that they did not know what radon was. Moreover, survey results for those who knew what radon was showed a very low level of awareness regarding the physical properties and hazards of radon. Through the findings of the present study, it was confirmed that the awareness of radon hazards among the residents of Korea needs urgent improvement and that the development of a radon risk communication program accounting for age, income, region, occupation, and various information delivery routes is also needed.