South Korea began offering visa-free entry for Chinese tourist groups on Monday, a measure it hopes will boost the economy and help improve ties with its Asian neighbour.
As part of the pilot programme due to run through until next June, groups of three or more tourists from mainland China will be able to stay without a visa for 15 days.
The action comes ahead of China's National Day holidays from 1-8 October, as well as a run of South Korean holidays around the same time.
South Korean companies are seeking to benefit from the increased demand. Shilla Duty Free has organised a Chinese cruise tour and food delivery app Baedal Minjok is introducing payment options in Alipay and WeChat Pay.
The programme, announced in March, follows China's decision last November to offer visa exemptions to South Koreans for up to 30 days.
The last time South Korea offered mainland Chinese similar visa-free entry was from December 2017 to March 2018, coinciding with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The new administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is hoping to further improve ties with China during an expected visit by President Xi Jinping in late October to an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea.
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The Orenburg gas processing plant, the world's largest facility of its kind, has been forced to halt its intake of gas from Kazakhstan following a Ukr...
Israel launched air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza on Sunday, in what officials called a response to militant attacks, as the U.S.-mediated ceasef...
The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed on Sunday after thieves broke in and stole “priceless” jewellery from the Napoleon collection, the French go...
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said he is not afraid of going to prison, days before beginning a five-year sentence over his 2007 campaign fi...
A large fire at the import cargo complex of Dhaka airport has caused significant damage to goods and materials belonging to key garment exporters, with losses and impacts on trade potentially amounting to millions of dollars, according to industry leaders on Sunday.
The Orenburg gas processing plant, the world's largest facility of its kind, has been forced to halt its intake of gas from Kazakhstan following a Ukrainian drone strike, according to Kazakhstan's energy ministry.
Israel launched air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza on Sunday, in what officials called a response to militant attacks, as the U.S.-mediated ceasefire came under renewed strain.
This September, I had a chance to visit Yerevan for the 108th edition of the Rose-Roth seminar, traditionally held by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since 1990 and intended for post-socialist countries.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
A large fire at the import cargo complex of Dhaka airport has caused significant damage to goods and materials belonging to key garment exporters, with losses and impacts on trade potentially amounting to millions of dollars, according to industry leaders on Sunday.
The Orenburg gas processing plant, the world's largest facility of its kind, has been forced to halt its intake of gas from Kazakhstan following a Ukrainian drone strike, according to Kazakhstan's energy ministry.
The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed on Sunday after thieves broke in and stole “priceless” jewellery from the Napoleon collection, the French government said.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said he is not afraid of going to prison, days before beginning a five-year sentence over his 2007 campaign financing case linked to Libya.
Millions of Americans took to the streets for “No Kings” rallies across all 50 states, denouncing what they called the corruption and authoritarianism of President Donald Trump.
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