Visa waivers for Chinese tourists to South Korea offered amid diplomatic thaw

South Korea has rolled out a temporary visa waiver programme for Chinese tour groups in the latest effort to help thaw frosty relations as the two countries navigate fragile bilateral ties.

Starting September 29, members of Chinese tour groups will be allowed to enter South Korea visa-free until June 30, 2026, the office of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Wednesday.

It marked the first time that South Korea allowed travel visa exemptions for Chinese tour groups, regardless of point of entry. Previously, only Jeju Island offered such access, allowing group visitors visa-free stays of up to 30 days.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok holds a ministerial meeting in Sejong on July 30. Photo: EPA/Yonhap

“With South Korea’s inbound tourism market recovering rapidly, the implementation of this visa waiver programme is expected to help boost demand for travel to Korea, revitalise regional economies and fuel domestic consumption,” a government official said, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.

Chinese nationals made up the largest group of overseas tourists travelling to South Korea, with about 2.5 million arrivals in the first half of this year, according to the Korea Herald, citing the Korea Tourism Organisation.

Last November, Beijing announced a unilateral visa-free policy for South Korean nationals, allowing them to stay in China for up to 15 days until the end of this year.

The measure drove strong growth in South Korean travel to China, with passenger Traffic from last November to March up 20.4 per cent, to 5.7 million visits, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul.