South Korea to Syria visa requirements

Yes - a South Korean ordinary passport holder needs a visa to enter Syria, AND South Korea's own government bans its citizens from traveling to Syria. There is no visa-free entry. Even setting the ban aside, Syria has no eVisa (the platform is closed) and entry requires either a visa on arrival (land borders) or an advance-arranged approval document (to fly into Damascus/Aleppo). Critically, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains a passport-use restriction (travel ban) covering all of Syria, renewed every six months. Traveling there without special prior government authorization is illegal under Korean law and forfeits all consular assistance. A South Korea (KR) ordinary passport holder cannot lawfully travel to Syria for tourism. Two separate barriers apply. First, on the Syrian side, all visitors except a handful of nationalities (Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Serbia) require a visa; South Korea is not exempt. Syria's eVisa system is no longer operational. South Koreans generally fall in the visa-on-arrival band at land borders (with a nationality-based fee around US$75-150 for a 15-day visa), but air arrivals into Damascus or Aleppo require an approval/authorization document arranged in advance, and fees are payable only in cash USD because cards and ATMs do not function. Second, and decisively, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs imposes a passport-use restriction (a legal travel ban) on the entirety of Syria. It has been in force since the civil war and is extended every six months (most recently through early 2026 and continuing). Traveling to Syria on a South Korean passport without special advance authorization from MOFA is a criminal offense under the Passport Act and means no consular protection. Syria also carries a Level 4 'Do Not Travel' / travel-ban advisory. Although South Korea and Syria moved to establish diplomatic relations in 2025, the travel ban remained in place as of mid-2026. The conservative, accurate verdict for a tourist is visa-required, with the strong caveat that the trip is effectively prohibited for ordinary travelers.