South Korea to ease visa application requirements for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED June 3, 2019; 7:16 p.m.)— As the Philippines and South Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Sunday, the South Korean envoy to the Philippines said Seoul will relax the requirements for Filipinos who want to visit.

Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man said the embassy would cut down  the number of documents needed for visa applications, especially for qualified professionals, media, and government workers. 

"For qualified people such the business people, media people, of course, and government officers, we give them a multiple visa at least five years or 10 years with one single document saying that I'm working in this company," Han was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The Korean government is issuing multiple-entry visa to ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, to provide convenience when visiting Korea. The government is also gradually expanding the scope of eligibility for multiple-entry.

Last year, the Korean Embassy announced that visa applications will be processed through designated travel agencies only. This was implemented in July 2018.

READ: Travel agencies to handle all Korea visa applications from July 1

In celebration of 70 th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Philippines, Ambassador Han is striving to reach 2 Million Koreans to visit the Philippines in the year 2019.

More scholarships soon

He added that scholarship offerings for Filipinos will be increased.

"We are encouraging people-to-people exchange, not only tourists but also students. So we are inviting many Korean students to study in the Philippines, and also we are inviting many qualified, talented Filipinos, in particular, university students to get scholarship," Han said.

The two countries area also eyeing increase in trade.

The Korean envoy cited that many Koreans love the Philippines because Filipinos are “friendly and very hospitable” that’s why half a million Korean tourists visited last year.

According to the Department of Tourism’s tourist arrival records released in May, South Korea remains the top source market with 519,584 tourist arrivals compared to the 477,087 tourist arrival in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Filipinos and Koreans celebrated the anniversary of diplomatic relations by joining a parade along Roxas Boulevard on Sunday. They also held cultural exchange activities. —Rosette Adel

(Editor's Note: The Korean Embassy has since clarified that citizens of all ASEAN countries may apply for multiple-entry visas.)