Beijing again excludes S. Korea from group tour destination

• Published date: 10 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

China on Friday shunned South Korea in its second batch of countries allowed for Chinese group tourists, a move widely seen as a form of political complaint.

The Chinese culture ministry added 40 foreign countries, including France, Italy, Denmark, Portugal and Iran, but not South Korea, to its list of officially permitted destinations for group tour packages for Chinese people, starting Wednesday.

China gave South Korea the cold shoulder in its initial batch of 20 such countries released on Jan. 20. The United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Russia and Indonesia were among the list.

Friday's move is widely viewed as an expression of Beijing's unresolved feud against Seoul's previous anti-COVID-19 measures on entrants from China, Hong Kong and Macao during the virus' surge in winter.

In early January, Seoul...