◀ Anchor ▶
When the news of our resumption of visa issuance became known, inquiries about Korean tourist visa applications flooded in China.
The Chinese government also said it would actively consider resuming visa issuance for Koreans.
Correspondent Lee Moon-hyun covered in Beijing.
◀ Report ▶
After the visa service was suspended, few people visited the consular office of the Korean Embassy in China.
Only half of the six counters are in operation, and even that is quiet.
However, the atmosphere has changed from today.
When I asked the person in charge of the agency who came to apply for a study visa, he said that the number of inquiries about tourist visas had skyrocketed since the morning.
[비자 대행사 직원]
″There are still quite a few inquiries, but from this morning, I will prepare visa documents quickly.
After the weekend, it is expected that from next Monday, Chinese citizens will be able to apply for Korean visas.
In the meantime, the Chinese government, which stopped visa work as a ‘counteraction measure’, also took a different position than before.
[마오닝/중국 외교부 대변인]
″Removing South Korea’s visa restrictions on China is a correct step in reducing barriers to people’s travel between the two countries.″
At the same time, they also said that they would actively consider resuming visa issuance from Korea, which had been suspended.
[마오닝/중국 외교부 대변인]
″We plan to actively consider issuing short-term visas for Koreans to China. I hope that Korea will create more convenience for normal travel with China.”
In the meantime, Korea and China have been engaged in a war of nerves over the entry procedure.
When Korea stopped issuing short-term visas, China responded in the same way eight days later, and later, when the Korean government extended the visa issuance suspension period until February, China conducted PCR tests on Koreans, and in the case of Dalian Airport, passengers departing from Korea Retaliation measures have continued, such as requiring them to wear white raincoats.
Perhaps because of this, since the news of the resumption of visa issuance was reported, there have been reactions such as “I’m looking forward to it” on Weibo, a Chinese SNS, but there are also many posts expressing the antipathy accumulated over the years, such as “Who will go?” and “Go if you want to wear a dog tag.” It’s coming up.
This is MBC News Lee Moon-hyun from Beijing.
Video coverage: Farewell (Beijing) / Video editing: Park Chun-gyu
