Chinese tourists shop at a store in the Shilla Duty Free Shop in Jeju, South Korea on July 9, 2025. Photo: Liu Yang/GT

The South Korean government will implement a trial visa-free entry policy for Chinese group tourists (three or more people) to stay for up to 15 days, starting from September 29, according to the cn.yna.co.kr on Sunday.The South Korean government will implement a trial visa-free entry policy for Chinese group tourists (three or more people) to stay for up to 15 days, starting from September 29, according to the Yonhap News Agency on Sunday.

The announcement was made by South Korean's Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the report said.

According to the announcement, between September 29 and June 30, 2026, Chinese group tourists who book their trips to South Korea through government-designated travel agencies will be eligible for visa-free entry for up to 15 days. Tourists are required to enter and exit South Korea using the same airline or the same ship.

From Monday to September 19, South Korea's Ministry of Justice and other relevant departments will notify travel agencies of the new travel guidelines, and the registration process for designated travel agencies will start on September 15. The South Korean government predicts that the new visa-free policy is expected to boost the local tourism industry and local economy, while helping to enhance friendly relations between the two countries, the Yonhap report said.

The report noted that Chinese group tourists and individual travelers visiting Jeju Island will continue to enjoy visa-free treatment for up to 30 days.

According to Trip.com Research Institute, the simplified visa procedures are expected to attract more middle-aged, elderly, and family travelers, thereby stimulating group tour demand from third- and fourth-tier cities in China.

The return of Chinese group tourists will directly boost the recovery of South Korea's retail, duty-free, and catering industries, while also promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and South Korea, the institute said in a note shared with the Global Times.

On August 7, Korean Air and Trip.com Group announced the official signing of a strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, Korean Air and Trip.com Group will leverage their integrated platform resources to engage in comprehensive collaboration across areas such as the establishment of Korean Air's official flagship store, mutual membership benefits, and data intelligence applications, according to a press release Korean Air sent to the Global Times.

The visa-free entry policy was first announced on August 6, when South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok presided over a meeting to revitalize domestic tourism, deciding to allow Chinese group tourists to be exempted from visas from September 29 this year to June 30 next year, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The prime minister's office expected the visa-free policy to bolster domestic demand by boosting additional demand to visit the Asian country, with the local tourism market recovering rapidly, according to Xinhua.

Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Dai Bing said on social media on August 6 that the decision was good news for Chinese travelers visiting South Korea.

China has unilaterally granted visa-free entry to South Korean citizens since November last year, and data showed that people-to-people exchanges between China and South Korea have since grown rapidly. "As close neighbors, frequent exchanges between the two peoples help enhance mutual understanding and deepen friendship," Dai said.

Chinese tourists have long played an important role in the tourism sector of South Korea. According to the Korea Herald, South Korea greeted 16.37 million international visitors last year, among which Chinese tourists represented the largest contingent, numbering 4.6 million.

As the demand for mutual tourism between China and South Korea grows, major South Korean airlines are also continuously expanding routes to and from China. In the first half of the year, passenger traffic on flights between South Korea and China reached approximately 7.81 million, an increase of 1.52 million compared with the same period last year, representing a growth rate of 24.3 percent, reported cn.yna.co.kr on July 6.