China warns citizens over travel to South Korea

Beijing [China], Mar. 4 (ANI): Chinese tourism authorities on Friday warned citizens over their plans to travel to South Korea. The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) warned Chinese to "seriously and fully study South Korea's entry policy before traveling," read a notice released on the administration's website, reports the Global Times. It added that travelers should have a clear mind about the risk of traveling abroad and cautiously choose their destination. According to the notice, the warning was issued after a rising number of Chinese were denied entry to South Korea's Jeju island, with some of the travelers being stranded in the Jeju airport for a long time. Several Chinese tourists had been denied entry to the island in February for various reasons and were detained in a shabby "tiny dark" room in the Jeju airport, the Beijing News reported. The CNTA has lodged serious representations to related authorities and met with several officials and diplomats from South Korea's embassy in China, according to the notice. Jeju is the only region in South Korea that has a visa-free policy for Chinese visitors, who can stay up to 30 days in the island after entry. The policy was implemented in 2008. The warning was made one day after South Korean media reported that China has set out to ban its people from traveling to South Korea in protest against Seoul's deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. However, travel agencies on Thursday night and Friday said they did not receive any official or non-official notice on a travel ban to South Korea. (ANI)