The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of coping knowledge for emergency preparedness in Korean elementary school students. A school-based coping education program was provided seven times to 271 fourth- and fifth-grade students in two urban schools by researchers with the school nurses. The Process Model of Stress and Coping and Self-Care Deficit Theory were the theoretical frameworks used to guide this research. The Coping Knowledge for Emergency Situations Questionnaire, developed by the authors, was used to gather data. In the coping education group, there was statistically significant improvement in the coping knowledge (t = 4.589, p < 0.001) from that of the control group (n = 270). The results highlight the importance of emergency preparedness for elementary school students and the need to develop educational programs for various emergency situations.