No Plans to Leave... China Sees Surge in Visa Applications to South Korea

Increase in Short-Term Visa Applications for Tourism Purposes Seen
Chinese Netizens Continue to Express Regret Over South Korea's Visa Restriction Measures

The number of visa applications from Chinese nationals traveling to Korea surged in the first week after the resumption of short-term visa issuance, which had been suspended for about 40 days due to quarantine policies. Some point out that this phenomenon contrasts with the reactions previously shown by Chinese netizens.

Short-term visa applications up 216% compared to the previous week with restrictions

According to Yonhap News Agency citing an official from the Korean Embassy in China on the 20th, "The average daily number of visa applications submitted to the Korean Embassy in China and Korean Consulates General in China from Monday to Thursday, February 13-16, was 2,430." This represents a 216% increase compared to the daily average of 1,123 applications during the previous week when short-term visa issuance was restricted.

In particular, the increase was significant in the capital Beijing and Shanghai, known as China's "economic capital." The Korean Embassy in Beijing received an average of 350 applications per day last week, up 313% from 112 the previous week, while the Korean Consulate General in Shanghai saw an average of 560 applications per day last week, a 350% increase from 160 the previous week.

Short-term Visa Resumption Brings Vibrancy to the Consular Section of the Embassy in China / Photo by Yonhap News

Most of these applications were reportedly for tourism purposes or visits by Korean-Chinese residents in China.

Yonhap News Agency analyzed that the sudden surge in visa applications might be due to the approval of applications that had accumulated during the period when visa issuance was restricted. There is also speculation that the demand for visas from Chinese international students increased ahead of the March semester start at Korean universities.

Whether the number of visa applications will continue to rise depends on the relationship between Korea and China. Currently, flights between the two countries operate about 62 times per week, but the government has announced plans to increase this to 80 times per week by the end of this month and up to 100 times per week in March. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has allowed overseas group travel for its citizens to 20 countries starting this month; however, Korea remains excluded.

Some Chinese netizens say "An apology for the restrictions should come first"

Earlier, on February 2, the Korean government restricted the issuance of short-term visas for travelers from China, considering the COVID-19 situation in China. In response, China announced on February 10 that it would suspend visa issuance for Korean nationals.

Subsequently, the positive rate among entrants from China dropped to 1.1%, and no variants were detected among confirmed cases from China, leading the Korean government to lift the short-term visa issuance restrictions for travel to Korea on February 11.

Photo by Pixabay

Despite Korea lifting the visa restrictions, some Chinese netizens expressed critical reactions toward Korea's previous stringent quarantine policies. On "Weibo" (China's social networking service), comments such as "I never intended to go anyway" and "The Chinese government should not lift the restrictions targeting Korea" were posted.

There were also angry responses like "What difference does lifting only short-term visa issuance make?" and "The Korean government should apologize to Chinese people first." Another netizen showed a strong reaction, saying, "Let's not go to Korea unless absolutely necessary."

Meanwhile, the Chinese government maintained its policy of suspending visa issuance for Koreans but normalized it starting February 18.