Overview

• South Korea will allow organized Chinese tour groups to enter visa-free from Sept. 29, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
• The exemption reciprocates China’s waiver of visas for Korean nationals since Nov. 8, 2024, and extends beyond the previous Jeju Island–only access.
• The visa waiver is part of three tourism-sector reforms that include fast-track immigration for conference attendees and new criteria for medical tourism agencies.
• Authorities are targeting 5.36 million Chinese arrivals in 2025, building on 8.83 million inbound tourists in the first half of the year, of which 2.53 million were Chinese.
• The Bank of Korea estimates that every additional million Chinese group tourists could raise GDP by up to 0.08 percentage point, following a 0.21-point boost linked to 2023 group tour resumptions.