S.Korea’s visa-free policy for Vietnamese travelers remains unchanged: KTO
Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 18:01 GMT+7
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam has confirmed that the visa-free policy intended for Vietnamese tourists entering South Korea at Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province will continue to be applied as normal.
The Gangwon administration has made no change to its entry rules for Vietnamese tourists who meet all current requirements so that they can continue traveling to South Korea using visa exemption, the KTO announced on Monday.
The announcement came after South Korea’s airlines Fly Gangwon informed its travel agents and partners on October 22 about its temporary suspension of receiving registrations by Vietnamese passengers for travel to the Yangyang International Airport from October 23 to 31.
The carriers said the suspension was aimed at serving “re-arrangement of the granting of visas to Vietnamese travelers making entry at the airport after the trial period.”
KTO commented the statement by Fly Gangwon, which has recently launched direct flights between Gangwon’s Yangyang County and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, has caused misunderstandings about the visa-free policy offered by the Gangwon authorities and South Korean government in general to Vietnamese travelers.
The visa-free policy has been applied since June 1, 2022 to Vietnamese travel groups of five members upward who enter South Korea at Yangyang International Airport and to tours that last a maximum of 15 days organized by designated travel firms.
This policy is part of the efforts by South Korea to lure international visitors to the country again after more than two years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnam is among the potential markets for South Korea’s tourism, so the South Korean government and Gangwon authorities have created the most favorable conditions for visitors from the Southeast Asian nation, according to KTO.
Currently, visitors to South Korea arriving at Yangyang International Airport, as well as Jeju International Airport on Jeju Island, enjoy the visa-free policy and they are not subject to COVID-19 testing or declaration of their COVID-19 vaccination history.
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