VISA FREE ENTRY TO SOUTH KOREA- WHAT’S THE CATCH?
Recently, the South Korean government announced that it will allow a visa-free entry in lieu of the upcoming Winter Olympics. This will be the first Winter Olympics to be hosted by Korea, and one of the main drivers of this visa offer is to increase tourism of the whole vicinity.
Before you start planning, there are several conditions that you need to be aware of, in line with this opportunity. These watchouts are very important to understand before you start planning your dream winter holidays.
Conditions for Visa free entry in South Korea
- South Korea recently gave Filipinos, Indonesians, and Vietnamese nationals visa-free privileges.
- The visa-free entry is valid only until April 2018, right before the Pyeongchang games.
- This visa-free entry is only applicable via entry through YangYang airport. It is a small international airport near Pyeongchang where the games will be hosted.
What are the possible issues with the visa-free privilege conditions?
- There are no direct flights from Manila to Yangyang airport
- Currently, the direct flights straight to Yangyang are only the ones from Japan and Russia, and several expansions from China – ,all of which also requires a visa for Filipino travelers.
- Even if you fly to Jeju, Singapore, or any other nearby Asian country that is visa-free, there are no direct flights to Yangyang. This by itself is a challenge. We can wait further though there’s no assurance if some airlines might offer flights in relation to this visa-free entry offer due to increased demand.
- Yangyang airport is in the outskirts of the city and in case you want to visit Seoul it will take you roughly 2.5 hours by car, or 3.5-4 hours by public transportation to Seoul. Within the area, you can still visit some worthy destinations within 2 hours like Gangwon province, fish markets, and Mt. Seoraksan National Park.
💡 For information of South Korea Tourist Visa for Filipinos, click here!
