'Rising Border Barriers' South Korea-Origin Entry Bans Increase to 54 Countries

Number of Countries with Entry Restrictions Rises Again to 167... Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence and Variant Virus Spread
Countries Continue to Strengthen Entry and Quarantine Measures

On the 8th, when the special entry procedure for Korean and Japanese businesspeople was implemented, a travel advisory for countries with COVID-19 entry restrictions was displayed at the departure hall of Terminal 2, Incheon International Airport. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Following the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and concerns over the spread of variant viruses, the number of countries implementing restrictions on arrivals from South Korea is increasing again. Recently, with the confirmation of variant virus infections in three Koreans who entered from the United Kingdom, the trend of entry bans and strengthened quarantine measures for foreigners coming from South Korea is expected to continue for the time being.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 29th, the number of countries implementing entry restrictions on foreigners who have passed through South Korea was counted at 167 countries (as of 6 p.m. on the 28th). The number of countries enforcing entry restrictions was 163 on the 27th of last month, but has turned to an increasing trend as countries that had recently lifted measures have reinstated them.

The number of countries imposing the strictest measure, entry bans, has started to increase again. After peaking at 153 countries in May, the number of countries with entry bans steadily decreased to 52 (as of the 18th), but increased by 2 to 54 countries within ten days. Canada is banning all foreigners arriving from the United States until January 21 of next year, Kuwait is effectively closing its borders from the 21st to the 1st of next month, and Israel is doing the same from the 23rd to the 4th of next month.

Following this, 10 countries including the United States are conducting facility quarantine, and 103 countries have implemented measures such as 'strengthened quarantine and recommendations.' Notably, European countries have newly joined the list of countries enforcing 'strengthened quarantine and recommendations,' marking the highest level ever recorded. Countries such as France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Portugal, and Finland, which had lifted entry restrictions on foreigners coming from South Korea, are also highly likely to strengthen entry or quarantine measures one after another.

This trend of strengthening entry restrictions is interpreted as being influenced by the sharp increase in domestic COVID-19 cases. The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases has continuously remained around 1,000 since surpassing 1,000 on the 16th. On the previous day, there were 1,046 new confirmed cases and 40 deaths. As the situation worsened, the government extended the social distancing measures at level 2.5 in the metropolitan area, which was scheduled to end on the 28th, until the 3rd of next month.

Moreover, concerns have increased as three Koreans who entered from the United Kingdom were infected with the variant virus. If the spread of the variant virus, known to be 70% more transmissible, becomes full-scale, the number of new confirmed cases is expected to rise to around 1,400. The government, which has been holding off on implementing level 3 social distancing measures due to concerns about economic shock and reduced effectiveness, may face an unavoidable situation.

A government official explained, "As there is a high possibility that strengthened entry measures will be newly implemented worldwide due to concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 variant virus, we are closely monitoring the situation," adding, "We will continue diplomatic efforts to ensure that essential personnel such as businesspeople do not face inconveniences when entering from overseas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.