October 1, 2025
SEOUL – As Chinese group tours officially began entering South Korea under a visa waiver scheme this week, the government has faced criticism from far-right communities pushing for the plan’s withdrawal.
At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 300 protesters gathered near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, to protest the visa-free entry of Chinese tourists.
Tuesday’s protests came a day after the start of the visa-waiver program, which runs until June 30. From Monday, groups of three or more Chinese nationals traveling with designated agencies were permitted to enter Korea without visas for up to 15 days.
Tuesday wasn’t the first time Korea has seen protests expressing anti-China sentiment.
Over the past year, at least 110 anti-China rallies have taken place nationwide, according to data from the Korean National Police Agency. While only one or two anti-China protests were reported monthly between September 2024 and February 2025, the frequency of such rallies rose sharply from March, with 26 reported in August and 21 in September.
In the Myeong-dong shopping district in central Seoul and the area around Daerim Station — a western Seoul neighborhood with a large Chinese population — rallies have targeted Chinese nationals, including tourists, demanding they leave the country. Myeong-dong is popular with Chinese tourists, and is also home to the Chinese Embassy and a small Chinatown.
Police data from Tuesday showed that authorities have seen a surge in civil complaints regarding the protests, mostly citing disruption to tourism and local businesses.
Authorities have imposed restricted-entry orders on protesters 13 times over the past two months, but rallies have managed to continue.
Additionally, the police launched an investigation Tuesday into an online post by someone threatening to stab Chinese tourists. According to police officials, the writer of the post is being tracked for possible public intimidation, with investigators tracking the post’s IP address.
Anti-Chinese sentiment has recently escalated following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s claims that the past major elections in Korea were rigged due to Chinese government influence. Though Yoon has been impeached, anti-China sentiment among far-right conservatives remains strong.
Over the last few months, online petitions were filed with the National Assembly claiming that allowing visa-free entry for Chinese nationals would trigger the spread in South Korea of chikungunya fever — a mosquito-borne illness that has recently been observed at high rates in southern parts of China.
On social media, posts titled “Oppose visa-free entry for Chinese nationals” cited users being wary of illegal overstays and employment by Chinese tourists.
Experts warn that the continued rise in anti-China sentiment risks the “creation of a broad hate movement toward Chinese people,” away from policy criticism.
“Anti-China sentiment in Korea has accelerated since the THAAD deployment, but emotions of hatred toward Chinese nationals are starting to become more pronounced, as unfounded information regarding Chinese people is spreading rapidly,” sociology professor Kim Yun-tae of Korea University told The Korea Herald.
Antipathy toward China grew in response to heavy restrictions on trade following the announcement in 2016 that Korea would host a THAAD missile defense system despite objections from Beijing.
“It’s important to distinguish between rational concerns and baseless speculation and somewhat address the concerns on a governmental level,” Kim said.
Kim added that the continuous spread of anti-China protests risks damaging Korea’s international reputation, particularly ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
“Allowing such rallies to continue could hurt the national interest by damaging Korea’s reputation and fueling hostility toward China,” Kim continued. “Political leadership must act to rein in such hate-fueled demonstrations.”
