If, like us, you're enamored with K-pop and K-dramas, fascinated by the Joseon and Goryeo eras, and obsessed with samgyupsal or anything made with kimchi, then you'll love this. South Korea is relaxing visa requirements for Filipino visitors!
According to South Korean ambassador Han Dong Man, the nation is simplifying its process of visa applications to encourage more Filipinos to visit South Korea. He added that visa applications can now be coursed through travel agencies to reduce the lines at the embassy, and that a decrease in the volume of documents needed—for qualified professionals, media, and government workers, in particular—is to be set in motion. In addition, those working in these sectors will be eligible for multiple-entry visas valid from five to 10 years. Exciting!
Further, potential students might want to hear this: South Korea is also doubling the number of scholarships offered to Filipino hopefuls! "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," Dong Man said.
Roughly 500,000 Filipinos visited Korea in 2018, and, in turn, Koreans have consistently topped the PH's foreign tourist arrivals list for the past decade.
