South Korean Passport Ranks 2nd Worldwide... Easy Entry to 190 Countries Globally

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It has drawn attention that South Korea's passport ranks 2nd in the global 'passport power' ranking.

According to the US CNN broadcast and others on the 11th (local time), South Korea ranked joint 2nd with Germany with a score of 190 in the ranking announced that day by international exchange specialist Henry & Partners.

South Korea had fallen to 13th place in this ranking in 2013 but has consistently maintained a top position of 2nd to 3rd place since 2018. This year, the joint 1st place went to Japan and Singapore, whose citizens can travel to 192 countries and territories worldwide either visa-free or through relatively simple entry procedures.

South Korea's passport allows easy entry to 190 countries and territories through visa-free, visa on arrival, or electronic visa methods, following closely behind. After the joint 2nd place holders South Korea and Germany, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain shared 3rd place. 4th place was held by Austria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

North Korea ranked 104th with access to only 39 countries. Behind North Korea were only seven countries: Nepal, Somalia, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

This ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and indexes how many of the 227 countries and territories worldwide can be easily entered by holders of a specific passport through visa-free, visa on arrival, or electronic visa methods.

Visa on arrival is a system where travelers can obtain a visa by submitting an application and paying a fee upon arrival at the entry point without complicated procedures before departure. Electronic visas are issued online and have simpler issuance procedures than regular visas.

However, CNN explained that temporary entry restrictions imposed by countries regardless of passports or visas were not considered in the index calculation process, so the current entry situation may not match the index.

Henry & Partners pointed out that due to entry restrictions caused by COVID-19, the polarization of movement between countries has been the greatest since the index was first calculated in 2006, and especially since the second half of last year, the spread of the Omicron variant has further widened the gap between rich and poor countries.

Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henry & Partners who devised this index, diagnosed that whether free migration and immigration between countries are allowed will be an important factor for the global economy's recovery after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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