K-visa: The new way to attract digital nomads to South Korea
With its catchy songs, visually stunning movies, and gripping television series, South Korea has slowly ascended up the ranks of pop culture since 2020, and many tourists have been anticipating the day they may visit the country.
-Government Action-
The facilities to travel to South Korea have been increased by the government. Welcoming more than three million tourists annually, South Korea has been causing the Hallyu wave to become stronger over time. The government has noted the increase of visa applications compared to previous years. Likewise, the government has been working on new methods for implementing different visas for foreigners.
As usual, tourist visas are offered, however they only permit stays of up to 90 days, which is insufficient for the ones that want to stay more time in the country. For those reasons, the government is working on creating a new visa process that allows people to stay longer in the country and allows them to work in fields related to K-pop culture.
The E-6 visa is an additional choice that formally enables foreigners to work in the Korean entertainment sector. The visa, however, makes it difficult for candidates to avoid signing trainee contracts with entertainment businesses. According to a representative for Immikorea, a visa service, "foreigners who want to work in the entire entertainment business have to secure E-6 visas, which are very hard to get because applicants must prove in what activities they will engage in Korea and need a company that hires them." Because of the high demand to travel and stay in the Korean territory, the government is thinking of launching new visas. Two new visa categories are being developed by the government for introduction in 2023. Young foreign people who wish to learn more about South Korea's entertainment industry or content creation may apply for a K-culture training visa.
According to Timon Youn, co-CEO of 1Million Dance Studio, "There are a lot of foreigners who come to Korea because they want to learn how to become a famous choreographer or a K-pop star, and they generally come as students." The demand is rising up and the government is very aware of how to ease the path for the ones who want to learn more about k-culture.
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At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous nations embraced the digital nomad visa, commonly referred to as the “workcation” visa. Although workers could use a laptop and work from anywhere in the world. South Korea hopes the trend of remote work will continue. This will allow for future visitors to work and learn more about the Korean society. The country is already making an effort to entice potential applicants for the hallyu and digital nomad visas. The government is putting the finishing touches on a number of workcation centres before introducing the digital nomad visa. Due to its bustling coastline, the port city of Busan draws a lot of tourists and is the suitable place to welcome as many nomads as possible. Furthermore with this idea in development, South Korea is building new ways to attract people that love the Korean culture and share the same interest in it.
-Korean Popularity-
From K-pop to Netflix series, and to Oscars winner “Parasite”, South Korean pop culture has been on a rise. People around the world are increasingly interested in k-dramas, movies, music and language, making it a unique trend. The exports of Korean culture had impacted the western culture to the point that the visit to the south Asian country had increased 200% since 2012.
PSY led the path through the music industry, introducing “Gangnam Style” in the US charts and billboards. Breaking records and labels, PSY became the open door to a new Korean pop culture that was rising and becoming solid.
According to Fuhr, who is pursuing a doctorate in K-pop and recently collaborated on a study on fan culture in K-pop with academics from Liverpool and Seoul, South Korea set itself apart from other markets early on through its idol training system.
This system became a model to create amazing performances and iconic dances that can be popular among the people. The popular songs and rhythms make it easy. The song “Butter”, from the world-famous band BTS, became the first song in the history to hit number #1 for more than 6 weeks in the Billboard Chart. Like this, many artists from k-culture are becoming famous and spreading their culture worldwide.
Moreover, this huge interest became an important topic for the government who started to show changes through its international legislation for implementing new mechanisms to attract foreigners and make South Korea one of the most popular destinations around the world.
