另類長期旅遊簽證------"韓國文化培訓簽證"
Korea to issue visas for K-culture training, rural workcations

海擇短評 Haize Comment：

近期韓國政府宣布延伸對外國人工作簽證的覆蓋範圍，目前已新增"韓國文化培訓簽證"，供有意向參與韓國流行音樂、編舞、時尚模特兒和其他韓國流行文化類別培訓的外國人申請。海擇資本認為，這類簽證類似各國的"數位遊牧簽證(digital nomad visa)"，更像是以增加旅遊業收入與讓有意於移民的外國人先行長期體驗的短期居留簽。

根據公告，"韓國文化培訓簽證"已於今年1月開始試行，在加入地方政府提供的各種激勵計畫後，擴大工作簽證範圍，使來韓國旅行的外國人可以在首爾都會區以外的地域居住、培訓與遠距工作。對於本類新簽證，韓國財政經濟部(Ministry of Economy and Finance)指出，這是為了成功應對不斷變化的旅遊趨勢，當前旅遊趨勢從跟團旅遊轉向個人旅遊，更加重視文化體驗而非購物，簽證規則也應依此修改，並預期該計畫到2027年底將能每年吸引3,000萬遊客，達到總旅遊收入300億美元的指標。基於相關KPI指標，我們認為，這類簽證與其說是工作簽證或教育簽證，更像是針對有興趣長住韓國的外國人，所推出的一種加長型旅遊簽證。

放大到亞洲看，其實近年東南亞多國與日本也推出了類似的數位遊牧簽證，一般這類簽證會要求申請人已有一定的年收入，並加入商業醫療保險，雖然可攜家眷，但更適合已有商業模式且穩定獲利的自由工作者，如Youtuber、工程師與創業者等等；由於東亞多個國家的少子化問題很嚴重，我們認為這其實也有讓有意於投資移民的外國人，先行中長期體驗該國文化的政策思路在其中。

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The South Korean government recently announced an expansion of its work visa coverage for foreigners, introducing a "K-Culture Training Visa." This new visa allows foreigners interested in training in K-pop, choreography, fashion modeling, and other Korean pop culture sectors to apply. Haize Capital believes this visa resembles other countries' "digital nomad visas," serving both to boost tourism revenue and to provide foreigners intending to immigrate with an opportunity for an extended preliminary experience.

According to the announcement, the "K-Culture Training Visa" began as a pilot in January this year. After incorporating various incentive programs offered by local governments, the scope of work visas has been expanded to allow foreigners traveling to South Korea to live, train, and work remotely outside Seoul. The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated that this initiative aims to adapt to the evolving travel trends that are shifting from group to individual travel, with a greater focus on cultural experiences over shopping. The visa regulations have been updated accordingly. The program is expected to attract 30 million visitors annually by the end of 2027, aiming for a total tourism revenue of $30 billion. Based on these KPIs, this type of visa is more akin to an extended tourist visa for foreigners interested in residing in Korea long-term, rather than a typical work or education visa.

Looking at Asia, in recent years, Southeast Asia and Japan have also introduced digital nomad visas similar to Korea's. These visas typically require applicants to have a certain annual income and to enroll in commercial medical insurance. While they allow family members to accompany the applicant, they are more suited for freelancers with a stable business model and income, such as YouTubers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Given the severe low birthrate issues in many East Asian countries, we believe these visas also serve as a policy strategy to allow potential investment immigrants to experience the local culture on a medium to long-term basis.

標籤 Label： Korea  Visa  Inbound  Tourism