South Korea is temporarily exempting travellers from 22 visa-waiver
nations from the K-ETA – the country's mandatory online travel permit
and transit visa requirement – as part of its plan to attract 10 million
international visitors this year.
The 22 nations include the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Macau, Canada, and Britain. The entry rejection rate among
their nationals is quite low, according to the Ministry of Economy and
Finance.
Before the pandemic, South Korea welcomed a record high of 17.5
million foreign visitors in 2019, generating tourism revenue of US$20.7
billion. However, the number of visitors dropped sharply to 2.5 million
in 2020 and 967,000 in 2021 due to the pandemic. In 2022, the number of
visitors increased to 3.19 million, and the country looks to boost this
number further this year.
The South Korean government plans to resume transit visa exemptions
for transit passengers from 34 nations, including the United States and
European countries, allowing them to stay in the country for up to 30
days. It also plans to ease visa issuance for group visitors from
Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and create new visa programs
for high-income foreigners and young people.
There are also plans to increase the number of international flights
to pre-pandemic levels. By September, flights to and from China will be
increased to 954 per week, up from the current 63 flights, and flights
for Japan will be increased to 1,004 per week from the current 863
flights.
In addition to these measures, South Korea is offering various
large-scale events related to K-pop, shopping, food, and other cultural
items. Major K-pop concerts will take place across the country from May
through October, including the Seoul Festa 2023 in April and a concert
in the port city of Busan in May. More online duty-free shops will open,
and discount coupons and various events will be available during the
upcoming duty-free festival in May.
The government is also planning to come up with a variety of tour
programmes centred on medical services, as well as major events on
Korean alcoholic beverages, beef, seafood, and various foods.