List of Travel Agencies Designated by the Korean Embassy

It is no secret that Filipinos are very much into anything that is Korea. May it be drama, music, food, or culture, Filipinos have begun loving everything about Korea. The Hallyu wave that took the world by storm (yeah, remember Psy dancing to Gangnam Style and whole crowds syncopating?) has truly captured the Filipino hearts. It is no surprise that every Filipino’s dream to visit the Land of the Morning Calm.

As Korean culture gets more popular every year, tourist visa applications in the Korean embassy has dramatically increased. As per Korean Embassy website, “Total number of visa applicants increased from 90,000 in the year 2015 to 120,000 by the end of 2016. In the year 2017, total number of visa applicants recorded was around 160,000.“

This drastic increase caused the embassy to take steps to ease the process. In late March 2018, the embassy announced that they will no longer be accepting walk-in applicants. Tourist visa applications will only be processed through accredited travel agencies, similar to the process of Japanese visa application. However, no date was specified as to when this new process will begin. They also begun the process of accredited travel agencies.

Initially, the announcement of the list of accredited travel agencies was supposed to be issued last May 14. However, it was only on May 29, 2018 that the list was issued through a Visa Announcement in the Embassy’s website. Furthermore, the Embassy announced that it will no longer be transacting with walk-in applicants beginning July 1, 2018. But in every rule, there are exceptions. The Embassy will still be accepting walk-in applicants from any of the following:

• Spouses and children of Koreans;
• Holders of visa issuance number;
• Government employees with official business trip; and
• For those with humanitarian reason to travel to Korea urgently.

For everyone’s reference, below are the 35 agencies accredited by the Embassy.