hankyoreh

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Hankyoreh archives)

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on Mar. 18 that it is issuing a Level 1 travel advisory (blue alert/take precautions) for all countries and regions not covered by previous advisories, with the new advisory taking effect on Mar. 19.

As the novel coronavirus spreads around the world, many countries have taken steps to restrict entering and exiting their borders, making it harder for Korean travelers to return home and provoking fears about their safety, MOFA said. Another reason for issuing the travel advisory is because of increasing concerns that Korean citizens will be infected overseas. MOFA also took into consideration the steps the South Korean government has been taking to control the disease at home, which include expanding special entry protocols to people arriving from anywhere in the world.

“South Koreans who are planning to travel overseas need to seriously consider whether they need to travel and to consider adjusting their schedule after assessing the COVID-19 situation and the current status of restrictions on entry, exit, and movement in the country or region they’re planning to visit. We hope that citizens who are currently residing overseas will pay extra attention to their physical safety to ensure they aren’t putting themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19,” MOFA said.

“We’ll be keeping a close eye on the occurrence of COVID-19 cases in each country and region and continue to assess the need to adjust the travel advisory,” the Ministry added.

The government’s travel advisory consists of four levels: blue alert (take precautions), yellow alert (refrain from travel), red alert (withdrawal recommended), and black alert (travel forbidden). On Mar. 16, MOFA had issued a level-two travel advisory (yellow alert/refrain from travel) for 36 countries in western and central Europe.

By Park Min-hee, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]