Korea-Japan Travel with Just a Resident Registration Card? KCCI Proposes Passport-Free Visits

KCCI Hosts Korea-Japan Tourism Cooperation Forum
Commitment to Support Simplified Immigration Procedures for Both Countries

The Culture and Tourism Industry Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed to the governments and parliaments of both countries to strengthen Korea-Japan tourism cooperation by simplifying immigration procedures and expanding payment infrastructure.

On June 25, the Culture and Tourism Industry Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a “Korea-Japan Tourism Cooperation Forum” at the chamber’s headquarters, where they discussed measures such as allowing travel between Korea and Japan using only a resident registration card, expanding domestic simple payment infrastructure, creating a Korea-Japan version of the Eurail Pass, and introducing a Korea-Japan version of the Schengen Agreement.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Culture and Tourism Industry Committee proposed to the governments and parliaments of both countries to strengthen Korea-Japan tourism cooperation by simplifying immigration procedures and expanding payment infrastructure. Getty Images

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Akane Kakishima, Senior Researcher at the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, stated, “Although travel between Korea and Japan has increased significantly, tourists still experience a sense of disconnect regarding immigration procedures, payment infrastructure, and public transportation.” She added, “Rather than aiming for complete institutional integration from the start, it is more realistic to gradually secure interoperability in areas that travelers can directly feel.” She further suggested, “As a pilot project, we could allow travel without a passport—using only a resident registration card—on specific routes or between selected cities, or try integrating the payment systems.”

Exterior view of the Sangui Hall, Jung-gu, Seoul. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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There was also a proposal to mutually recognize visas to attract tourists from third countries. Kim Hyungjong, Research Fellow at the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, said, “Just as the Schengen Agreement enables visa-free travel among EU member states, a ‘Korea-Japan Schengen Agreement’ would greatly help attract tourists from third countries who wish to visit both nations.” Kim explained, “Based on input-output analysis of the economic impact of a Korea-Japan Schengen Agreement, it was found that the tourism account deficit could decrease by up to 19%, and the economic growth rate could rise by about 0.11 percentage points.”

The need to expand simple payment infrastructure was also raised. Park Beomseok, Head of International Marketing at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, “Recently, the rate of repeat visits to Korea by Japanese women in their 20s and 30s, and the proportion of men in the same age group visiting Korea, have increased rapidly, making it even more important to enhance payment convenience for these groups.” He added, “If simple payment methods become more widespread, not only will payment convenience improve, but it will also enable customized discounts and events, which can increase the satisfaction of tourists visiting Japan.”

The tourism industry also suggested cooperation in transportation and exhibition sectors. Jung Hoseok, CEO of Hotel Lotte, stated, “The key to Korea-Japan tourism cooperation is ultimately to unify both countries into a single tourism zone, increase mobility, and extend the average length of stay.” He proposed establishing an integrated transportation and tourism system connecting Korea’s KTX, Korea-Japan passenger ferries, and Japan’s Shinkansen.

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Lee Jongmyeong, Head of the Industrial Growth Division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “Korea-Japan tourism cooperation is the area with the lowest barriers and the potential for the most visible short-term results in the process of implementing the Korea-Japan Economic Solidarity that Chairman Chey Tae-won has repeatedly emphasized.” He added, “We will work with the government and others to discuss and pursue practical steps for real progress.”

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