{"id":2197081,"date":"2022-06-27T17:17:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T08:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2197081"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:14","slug":"travelers-blame-south-korea-for-missed-flights-over-new-document-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/06\/travelers-blame-south-korea-for-missed-flights-over-new-document-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Travelers blame South Korea for missed flights over new document requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check-in staff at departure airports have refused to allow regular visitors to South Korea to board flights to Seoul due to not having newly required paperwork, an oversight several blamed on poor efforts to publicize the requirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

A dozen travelers told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> that they arrived at their airports unaware of the Korea Electronic Authorization (K-ETA) system, with ten denied boarding and two able to file a last-minute application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span> Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> investigation found that as of last week many ROK foreign ministry websites still made no mention of the need to have K-ETA paperwork processed before departing for Incheon International Airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea introduced the K-ETA system in Sept. 2021 as part of efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, requiring visitors to disclose personal information <\/span>including the itinerary of their last two weeks of travel<\/span><\/a>. Applying costs 10,000 won (US$7.79) per person.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the government describes the system as <\/span>automatic<\/span><\/a>, processing times are reportedly erratic. One applicant told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> it took four days to receive travel confirmation, while others reported getting approved in less than five minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I was attempting to fly to Seoul and was denied boarding by a major international airline at a major European airport because I did not have a \u2018visa,\u2019\u201d said Evans Revere, a senior adviser with the Albright Stonebridge Group and former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIncredulous, I patiently explained to the airline representative at the gate that U.S. citizens did not need a visa to travel to Korea,\u201d Revere told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>, recounting that he was only then informed of a new \u201cvisa requirement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One staffer at a major U.S. nongovernmental organization and former resident of South Korea confirmed that they were also denied boarding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn sum, I don\u2019t think the information was properly shared,\u201d the traveler explained, requesting anonymity due to lack of employer authorization to speak to media. \u201cIt should be more prominently displayed on the Korean Embassy website (and) the airlines should notify passengers of the requirements, especially Korean carriers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While a <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> investigation shows that South Korean embassy and consulate websites are <\/span>increasingly publicizing<\/span><\/a> K-ETA requirements, out-of-date guidance that doesn\u2019t mention K-ETA was still on dozens of foreign ministry websites targeting visitors from countries around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, the Korean consulate in Houston, Texas <\/span>still informs<\/span><\/a> prospective tourists that \u201cA U.S citizen with a valid passport can visit the Republic of Korea without a visa for 90 days for the purpose of tourism or visitation,\u201d with no mention of the K-ETA requirement in either the short- or long-term visa guidance sections.<\/span><\/p>\n

In one case, a notice updated as recently as <\/span>May 2022<\/span><\/a> on the website of the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines made no mention of the K-ETA system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some who flew to South Korea recently on Korean flag carriers told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> that the airline informed them in advance about the K-ETA requirement, though not always with prominent and clear messaging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Korean Air, <\/span>for example<\/span><\/a>, features an interactive tool that provides a K-ETA link in the \u201cvisa requirements\u201d section. But the section appears easy to overlook for travelers like U.S. nationals who have visited South Korea for years without a visa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the justice ministry\u2019s official K-ETA app has received an average of just 1.3 stars from 274 reviews, with many users complaining they couldn\u2019t even enter text to complete fields necessary to complete their application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo keyboard shows to type information,\u201d wrote Ae Soon Lee. \u201cEmbarrassing for an app that is requiring government ID.\u201d Another reviewer wrote, \u201cI can’t even pass (the) instructions page.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DISRUPTED PLANS<\/b><\/p>\n

For those turned away at check-in desks, arriving at the airport without a K-ETA can upend meeting schedules and force them to rebook flights at a time when tickets are especially expensive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c(K-ETA) makes it highly unlikely that I will be traveling to Korea any time soon,\u201d said Revere, the former deputy chief at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Justice, which oversees the K-ETA system, told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i> it has no data on the number of people rejected from flights and said it feels it has communicated the new requirements sufficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, K-ETA information can be found posted on the websites such as the Korean Embassy in the U.S., the Ministry of Justice, the Korea Immigration Service and various airlines,\u201d a ministry spokesperson said. \u201cWe will make efforts to further promote the K-ETA policy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked about embassy and consulate websites with outdated information, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Seoul will instruct them to conduct \u201cadditional promotion\u201d of K-ETA requirements to potential travelers to Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

The justice ministry spokesperson added that those who show up at the airport without K-ETA paperwork can apply online and \u201cgenerally\u201d get confirmation within 30 minutes \u2014 a timeline some travelers said was at odds with their experience of dayslong waits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everyone believes the problem lies with South Korea\u2019s government, however.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIsn’t it like normal to look these things up online before traveling?\u201d the <\/span>Korea Herald\u2019s <\/span><\/i>Hyunsu Yim <\/span>tweeted<\/span><\/a> in May.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Bryan Betts<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check-in staff at departure airports have refused to allow regular visitors to South Korea to board flights to Seoul due to not having newly required paperwork, an oversight several blamed on poor efforts to publicize the requirement. A dozen travelers told Korea Pro that they arrived at their airports unaware of the Korea Electronic Authorization […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3665,"featured_media":2197082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[26,28],"class_list":["post-2197081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-defense-security","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nTravelers blame South Korea for missed flights over new document requirements - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/06\/travelers-blame-south-korea-for-missed-flights-over-new-document-requirements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travelers blame South Korea for missed flights over new document requirements - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Check-in staff at departure airports have refused to allow regular visitors to South Korea to board flights to Seoul due to not having newly required paperwork, an oversight several blamed on poor efforts to publicize the requirement. 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