South Korea reopens to fully vaccinated travelers

South Korea is relaxing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated visitors starting on Friday, the Korea Tourism Organization announced.

Travelers who are fully vaccinated and boosted will no longer be quarantined upon entry into South Korea, according to a Friday release from the organization. Overseas travelers will have to enter personal information and vaccine information into a Q-code website for verification.

The exemption does not apply to visitors from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Myanmar, who must still quarantine for seven days. And all travelers arriving by plane must provide proof a negative COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure, the U.S. Embassy in South Korea said.

The news marks a major relaxation for the country. In December, South Korea announced that all travelers, regardless of vaccinations status, would undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine upon entry.

The Korea Tourism Organization said they were expecting a busy travel season.

“Airlines have already seen a surge in bookings for April, with many travelers keen to visit as soon as they can – and while the cherry blossoms are in season,” the organization said on March 23.

The U.S. State Department has issued a level 4 do not travel advisory to South Korea because there is a high level of coronavirus transmission in the country.

Last week, total infections in the country exceeded 10 million. South Korea reported its highest daily infection rates on March 16, when it recorded 621,205 cases.