Air travel between South Korea and China is steadily recovering after years of strained relations triggered by the 2016 deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The resurgence has accelerated since November of last year, when China began allowing South Korean nationals to enter the country visa-free for stays of up to 15 days.
Since then, the number of flight routes connecting the two countries has risen, alongside a gradual increase in South Korean travelers visiting China. At the same time, inbound tourism from China has also picked up. The renewed exchange is fueling optimism in South Korea’s domestic market, particularly in the retail and tourism sectors, which have been grappling with prolonged stagnation.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Apr. 22, the number of flights between South Korea and China over the five-month period from November 2024 to March 2025 reached 45,157—an increase of 9.9% from the same period a year earlier. Passenger traffic during that timeframe rose by 20.4%, totaling 5.72 million.
The uptick is largely credited to Beijing’s decision to reintroduce short-term visa-free entry for South Koreans, a policy that has helped revive previously muted travel demand.
From September 2024 to February 2025, 2.12 million Chinese nationals visited South Korea, representing a 31.8% increase from the previous year. That translates to a monthly average of approximately 350,000 visitors. While the figure has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels—when monthly averages hovered around 500,000—the upward trend is evident.
In a further effort to stimulate demand, the South Korean government is considering lifting visa requirements for Chinese group tourists as early as the third quarter of this year. If approved, the policy could provide another boost to domestic consumption.
Full-service and low-cost carriers alike are scaling up their services to China. Korean Air is now operating 195 weekly flights to Chinese destinations under its summer schedule (March to October), recovering to about 90% of its pre-pandemic frequency. Asiana Airlines expanded its services last month to key cities including Chengdu and Chongqing, operating seven flights per week on each route, and increased its Yanji route to eight flights weekly.
Jeju Air resumed twice-weekly flights between Jeju and Xi’an as well as Hong Kong in mid-April. Meanwhile, T’way Air is set to launch three weekly flights to Yanji departing from Cheongju and Daegu later this month.
The increase in air traffic has translated into record passenger volumes at Incheon International Airport. The airport handled 17.4 million travelers in the first quarter of this year—the highest first-quarter figure in its history. Of those, 2.66 million were on routes to and from China, marking a 24% year-over-year increase.
Retailers and travel agencies are already feeling the impact of what industry insiders are calling the “visa-free effect.” Lotte Home Shopping, for instance, doubled its inventory of China-related travel products following the visa policy change. “Sales of China travel packages have exceeded our targets, prompting us to increase related programming by more than 60%,” a Lotte representative said.
Hana Tour also reported a 61% year-over-year increase in first-quarter bookings for its China travel packages.
At a tourist hotel in the Insadong neighborhood of Seoul, 60% of guests as of Apr. 21 were Chinese nationals. “Last year, Chinese guests made up just 5% of bookings during this period,” a hotel staff member said. “Now that more Chinese tourists are visiting, we’ve focused our marketing on Chinese travel platforms, which has driven up reservations.”
South Korea’s retail sector, burdened by weak domestic spending, is seeing signs of recovery. Health and beauty chain Olive Young, a popular stop for foreign tourists, reported that sales to Chinese visitors in the first quarter surged 84% from the same period a year ago—an early indicator of shifting consumer trends as tourist volumes continue to rise.
