South Korea Starts Implementing Entrance Visa Free Rules For Chinese Tourist Groups

South Korean visa illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Visit visa master)

JAKARTA - South Korea began implementing entry visa-free rules for Chinese tourist groups on Monday, a move that is expected to boost the economy and help improve relations with neighboring Asian countries.

The South Korean government earlier last month announced that this visa-free rule would take effect from September 29 with a certain period of time.

As part of a pilot program that will last until June next year, a group of three tourists or more from mainland China will be able to stay without a visa for 15 days.

This policy was taken ahead of the Chinese National Day holiday from October 1-8, as well as a series of South Korean holidays at almost the same time.

South Korean companies are trying to take advantage of this increase in demand. Zella Duty Free has organized a Chinese cruise tour, while food delivery app Baedal Minjok introduced payment options for Alipay and WeChat Pay.

The program, announced in March, follows a Chinese decision in November last year that offered visa-free for South Koreans for up to 30 days.

"We will introduce the abolition of temporary visas for group tourists from China in the third quarter to accelerate the recovery of the number of Chinese visitors," said Acting President Choi Sang-mok last March.

The last time South Korea offered a similar visa-free access to the Bamboo Curtain Country was from December 2017 to March 2018, to coincide with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

It is known that the new government of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung hopes to further improve relations with China during President Xi Jinping's visit which is planned at the end of October to attend the Asia-Pacific Summit (APEC) in South Korea.

Last year, 16.4 million tourists visited South Korea, up 48 percent from the previous year, compared to 17.5 million in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese citizens are the largest share, reaching 28 percent, according to government data.