Jakarta. South Korea is open to granting individual Indonesian tourists visa waivers, but this decision hinges on whether Jakarta can prove that its people will not overstay.

Seoul is now on many Indonesians’ holiday wish list as more and more people consume Korean cultural exports, be it K-pop and K-drama. South Korea is already letting Indonesian tour groups of three or more people enter the country without having to pay the $15 visa fee. They have just extended this policy to the end of 2026. Solo travelers still have to apply for the standard visa.

South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Yoon Soongu revealed that the government had not encountered any issue since the visa-free entry began. Seoul is also willing to “seriously consider” more relaxations if everything goes well.

“That will be the starting point to boost the people-topeople exchanges,” Yoon Soongu recently told the Jakarta Globe.

“This group visa requirement could be removed completely. The next step would be to consider whether or not an individual [traveler] visa is necessary.”

Indonesia, however, has to maintain a very low to no rate of undocumented tourists visiting South Korea. Jakarta also has to prove that its travelers will not overstay, according to Yoon Soongu. He added: “We will be ready to remove the remaining constraints once we have this positive track record”.

South Korea reported to have attracted 365,596 Indonesian visitors throughout 2025. A cross-central bank partnership has recently enabled Indonesians to pay for their shopping in South Korea simply by using the QR payment system QRIS.

As South Korea grows into a tourist haven, Indonesia still falls behind other ASEAN nations when it comes to being a magnet for Seoul people. Only 458,024 South Koreans went to Indonesia last year. This is less than one tenth of the 4 million South Koreans visiting Vietnam each year.

“It’s a shame. Indonesia’s population is about three times larger than that of Vietnam. We need to improve air connectivity. But you [Indonesia] have an unparalleled biodiversity, of which many college-age Korean tourists are interested in,” the envoy said.

South Korea is looking to further step up its cultural diplomacy. Initiatives are not only limited to training Indonesian entertainers to be on the K-pop stage, with the Bali-born Carmen of girl group Hearts2Hearts being a prime example.

“We are not satisfied with just exporting our cultural goods. We are considering co-existence with our key partners like Indonesia [such as via] film co-production,” Yoon Soongu said.

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