HCMC – The South Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has removed Vietnam from the list of countries subject to its tightened quarantine requirements.
Under the decision, fully-vaccinated Vietnamese travelers to South Korea are exempt from mandatory quarantine starting April 1.
Apart from Vietnam, Myanmar and Ukraine were also pulled off its list, the agency told a meeting on March 31.
South Korea is accepting the Covid-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization, including Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca, Janssen, Novavax, Sinopharm, Sinovax, Covishield, Covivax and Covovax.
International visitors to South Korea are allowed to use public means of transport instead of its anti-Covid traffic system.
In early March, South Korea was set to lift quarantine requirements on international arrivals from many countries, including Vietnam, from April 1.
However, the country added Vietnam to the list of countries subject to its strengthened Covid control measures, meaning that Vietnamese travelers to South Korea had to self-quarantine for seven days upon arriving regardless of their vaccination status.
In addition, flights from Vietnam to South Korea were required to carry passengers at 60% of their capacity.
The South Korean tourism agency is planning to restart tours to serve Vietnamese visitors.
“We will resume tours for Vietnamese tourists to South Korea no later than June,” Nguyen Thu Ha, director of public relations at the representative office of KTO in Vietnam, told the Saigon Times on April 1.
The South Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam is introducing the country’s tourism services and products at the ongoing Vietnam International Travel Mart in Hanoi City, which is set to wrap up on April 3.
In 2019, South Korea welcomed over 553,000 Vietnamese arrivals, up more than 20% year-on-year.
