S. Korea introduces conditioned visa-free rule for Chinese travelers during Pyeongchang 2018
CGTN
["other","South Korea"]
South Korea confirmed Chinese inbound travelers will be granted 15-day visa-free stays for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which runs from February 9 to 25, providing they meet the set of criteria listed by the S. Korean government.
The temporary visa policy, which starts from this Friday until the end of March next year, allows visitors with a ticket bought through an official Chinese travel agency to enter the country, according to S. Korean news agency Yonhap.
It also said that applicants must also be a Chinese citizen with records of arrival and departure in and from S. Korea with a legal visa issued by the relevant authorities in the past five years.
Welcome sign, in Seoul, is on display at the entry of a shopping center is written in Chinese./Sina Photo 

Welcome sign, in Seoul, is on display at the entry of a shopping center is written in Chinese./Sina Photo 

Those who have criminal convictions, or have previously been found to have stayed in S. Korea illegally, will not be able to apply for the waiver.
It also reported that similar measures have also been implemented to allow visa-free travel from Indonesia, The Philippines and Vietnam.
Some say that the conditioned no-visa entry can be seen as another move by the S. Korean government to normalize ties with China after two countries had a strained relationship due to the THAAD deployment.
THAAD/Wiki photo

THAAD/Wiki photo

There’s a rising interest towards winter sports in China as the country successfully won the bid for 2022’s Winter Olympics. China has won a total of 53 Winter Olympic medals, including 12 gold.