South Korea, Japan tourism industries call for national ID travel pilot program

South Korean and Japanese tourism industry leaders have called for a pilot program that would allow travelers on select routes or between designated cities to cross the border using only their national ID cards, as a way to generate synergies in the tourism sector.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Culture and Tourism Industry Committee held a Korea-Japan Tourism Cooperation Forum at the KCCI building Thursday. About 20 participants attended, including Woo Ki-hong, chairman of the committee and vice chairman of Korean Air, Jeong Ho-seok, chief executive of Hotel Lotte, Song Bo-young, chief executive of Asiana Airlines, Lee Jin-seok, chairman of the Korea Tourism Association, and Park Jong-dal, standing vice chairman of the Korea Tourism Association Central Council.

Kakishima Akane, a senior researcher at the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, said that while travel between South Korea and Japan has grown significantly, tourists still feel a sense of disconnection in areas such as immigration procedures, payment infrastructure and public transportation. "Rather than pursuing full institutional integration from the outset, a more realistic approach would be to gradually build compatibility," she said.

She went on to say the two sides should start with pilot programs — such as allowing travel on specific routes or between certain cities using only a national ID card instead of a passport, or integrating payment systems.

Kim Hyeong-jong, a research fellow at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, said allowing national ID-based travel "could at the same time improve immigration convenience for South Korean visitors to Japan and increase the likelihood of Japanese nationals visiting South Korea, given that fewer than 20 percent of Japanese hold passports."

Calls were also made for mutual visa recognition for third-country nationals. Kim said that just as the Schengen Agreement allows visa-free movement among EU member states, a "Korea-Japan Schengen pact" would greatly help attract third-country tourists wishing to visit both nations. He added that an input-output analysis of the economic impact of such an arrangement found it could reduce South Korea's tourism account deficit by up to 19 percent and lift the economic growth rate by about 0.11 percentage points.

Participants also urged an expansion of payment infrastructure to promote the use of mobile payment services. Park Beom-seok, head of international marketing at the Korea Tourism Organization, said wider adoption of mobile payment would not only improve convenience but also enable personalized discounts and promotions, boosting satisfaction among tourists visiting Japan.

The forum also floated the idea of a "Korea-Japan Eurail pass." Jeong Ho-seok, chief executive of Hotel Lotte, said an integrated transport and tourism system should be built allowing foreign visitors to book and use South Korea's KTX high-speed rail, Korea-Japan ferry services and Japan's Shinkansen in a single transaction — much like the Eurail pass that lets travelers move freely across Europe. He said such a system could help ease the concentration of tourism in major cities such as Seoul and Busan.

Woo, the committee chairman, said Korea-Japan tourism cooperation "goes beyond finding business opportunities for specific industries — it can serve as a cornerstone for deepening mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples, and for strengthening solidarity across the broader economy and all industries." He urged the relevant ministries of both countries, the private sector and the National Assembly to form a joint consultative body and move quickly to discuss concrete implementation plans.

Joo Ho-young, chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League, said in a video address that the National Assembly would work to ensure that discussions on measures such as a Schengen-style agreement and expanded payment infrastructure "translate into actual laws and systems." The KCCI said it plans to discuss implementation plans with the government and other relevant parties based on the proposals raised at the forum.