In Korea, even before the 'complete liberalization of overseas travel' in 1989, passports were issued only to public officials going on business trips, traders, and people going to study abroad. Except for the special purpose, passports for tourist purposes were not issued. For example, overseas travel for the purpose of sightseeing or visiting began in 1983, but there was an age limit (50 years old or older) and a condition of depositing 2 million won for 1 year, except for married couples. So, at the time, the mere fact of having a passport was enough to receive special treatment. According to an employee who joined Hanjin Tourism in 1981, “You don't know how proud my parents were when I first got my passport because I thought that having a passport was like achieving a big success. Back then, it was easy to get a little favor just by showing your passport.”
In the 1960s, daily newspapers introduced ‘today’s overseas travelers’ in a fixed column every day. In the 1980s, newspaper articles published a series of happenings abroad by elderly travelers who were not good at foreign languages. The story of a traveler who lost tons of coins using Japanese vending machines because he was so curious about the changes coming out of the machine so quickly, travelers who shared cans of dog food and suffered from bad stomachaches, and getting a water splash by a bidet in a hotel without knowing how to use it. However, from January 1, 1989, right after the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and owing to the full liberalization of overseas travel, all Korean nationals managed to travel freely abroad.
■ Concept and Origin of the Passport
Since when did people use the passport, a must-have item for overseas travel, and why was it called the passport? Medieval European cities were usually surrounded by walls, so when foreign envoys or merchants who frequently traveled to various places entered and exited the city gates, the word was derived from a compound word of 'passe,' meaning passage in French, and 'porte,' meaning gate. Extract from Kim Jinseop, 『Tourism Law』, 1991, p. 43.
In addition, the English word 'passport' is a compound word of 'pass' and 'port'. We can assume that it is a certificate to pass from one port to another when an airplane is not available for transportation. For reference, in 1902, at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, the Yuminwon was established under the Ministry of the Interior to take charge of immigration-related tasks such as passport issuance.
Yu Min-won, who corresponds to the passport department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, issued “Jipjo” (a current passport) to Korean immigrants in Hawaii. Jipjo divides a piece of Korean paper into left and right sides, and the left side shows the traveler's address, name, occupation, passport number, etc. in Chinese rather than Korean, and the right side shows translations in English and French. In particular, the jipjo contains the content that “we request each government agency passing through the road to provide all necessary protection so that the holder of the jipjo will not be hindered while traveling in Hawaii.” Korean Immigration Museum, 『Exhibition Artifact Catalog』, pp. 26-28.
Over many centuries, countries around the world have been issuing passes to ensure safe passage for overseas travelers. Passes took many forms, from credentials written on papyrus to rings engraved with the Seal of the Seal. However, it is said that it was after World War I that the passport was treated as an essential document for overseas travelers.
Even before World War I, each country sometimes required documents to prove identity when a citizen or a foreigner entered the country. It has become internationally common to require the presentation of a passport to deter the entry of dangerous persons and refugees. Immigration Law Research Society, 『2018 Easy-to-Explain Immigration Control Act』, Korea Immigration Foundation, 2018, p. 12.
For reference, there is a word called “passport power,” which means the power of a passport in Korean. Being able to go without a visa with just one passport must be backed by national strength. According to the '2018 Henry Passport Index', Korea was designated as a country that allows visa-free travel to 189 countries, following Japan and Singapore and ranking third in the world.
< Sample Korean passport >
【Source: Immigration and Foreigner Policy Headquarters】
According to Article 2 (Definition) of the Immigration Control Act of the Republic of Korea, 'a passport is a passport issued by the government of the Republic of Korea, a foreign government, or an authoritative international organization, or a refugee travel document or other certificates in lieu of a passport that are recognized as valid by the government of the Republic of Korea’.
Passports are an important means of identifying passport holders and determining which countries have diplomatic protection rights. In addition, it is an internationally accepted identification card as an official document that performs functions such as proof of identity and nationality for passport holders, proof of return, and a request for convenience in the country where you want to travel.
< Meaning of a Valid Passport >
The Seoul Central District Court made a judgment that, “if it is a foreigner whose entry was restricted due to the crime he committed in the Republic of Korea in the past, and he applied for a passport by changing his personal information such as his name and date of birth for the purpose of entering the Republic of Korea, even if the passport issuing agency did not know that the person had successfully issued the passport with the changed personal information, the agency is entitled to refuse his entry to Korea.” 2008.10.16. Sentence 2008 godan 4570.
A “valid passport” means a passport that meets both formal and substantive requirements. The formal requirement means that the passport was issued in accordance with due process by a competent state agency, and the practical requirement means that the holder and the exerciser of the passport are the same. Generally, the criteria for determining the validity of a passport are: ▴The passport must have been legally issued by a competent government agency ▴The validity period of the passport has not expired ▴The holder of the passport must be the same person ▴The passport must not have been forged ▴It can be cited that the Korean government recognizes it as valid. Immigration Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, 『Commentary on the Immigration Control Act』, p. 66.
■ The Secret in the Passport Park Gil-nam, The Book, pp. 225-226.
If you look at the South Korean passport sample, there are two lines of machine-readable parts at the bottom. It contains various information about the passport holder, consisting of several numbers, brackets, and capital letters of the English alphabet.
In the first line at the bottom of the passport, PM indicates the type of passport, KOR indicates the issuing country, HONG indicates the surname, and GILDONG indicates the given name. For reference, in PM, P is an abbreviation for passport, and M is an abbreviation for multiple. S stands for single, and PS stands for a single-use passport.
M29992470 shown in the second row at the bottom of the passport is the passport number, KOR is Korean nationality, 750101 is the date of birth, M is the gender (male is indicated by M, an abbreviation of male, and female is indicated by F, an abbreviation of female), and 180310 is the expiry date of the passport. 1121123 refers to the number at the end of resident registration. In order to prevent forgery and falsification, various security elements such as net patterns and hibiscus patterns are hidden in the photo and paper, and fine letters that are difficult to see with the naked eye are inserted inside the security line.
Prior to the introduction of the MRP (machine-readable passport), immigration officers had to enter the passenger's name and date of birth on the keyboard to search for immigration restrictions. However, with the introduction on the automatic passport reading system, the passport reader automatically recognizes the personal information of the passport, searches for immigration regulators, and automatically saves immigration records, resulting in a significant reduction in immigration screening time.
■ What to Do If You Lose Your Passport While Traveling Abroad?
First, visit the nearest police station to report the loss of a passport, obtain a passport loss confirmation certificate (police report), and submit it to the Korean embassy or consulate to apply for a passport reissue, or go to the nearest Korean embassy or consulate to fill out the form and reissue one. However, it is advantageous to apply for a travel document issued within 3 to 4 days, as it takes 2 to 3 weeks to reissue one. A travel document refers to a type of temporary passport issued to a person who has lost his or her passport while staying or residing abroad and has humanitarian reasons to urgently return home without time to wait for a passport to be issued.
■ How to Write Your Name in English on Your Passport
Hong Gil-dong, a Korean, used Hong Jackpot as his English name instead of his own name, Hong Gil-dong, to wish him good luck during his studies in the United States. Mr. Hong Gil-dong lost his passport while living in Korea after studying in the United States for several years. He wanted to continue using his English name that he had used abroad for a long time while applying for a reissue, so he requested that it be marked as Hong Jackpot. In this case, would it be possible for Hong Gil-dong to write his English name on his passport as Hong Jackpot?
According to the Enforcement Rules of the Passport Act (Article 2-2), “When a passport issuance applicant intends to change to an English name that has been used for a long time abroad, if the English name is not the English version of the Korean name in the family relation register, the original English name The English name to be changed can be written either before or after it.” Therefore, if you want to continue to use Hong Jackpot, the English name that Gil-dong Hong used for a long time while studying abroad, it is possible to write Jackpot before or after Gil-dong's English name (Gildong).
On the other hand, according to the Enforcement Decree of the Passport Act (Article 3-2), correction of the English name in the passport is permitted only in the following cases: (1) When the English name on the passport does not clearly match the pronunciation of the Korean name, (2) When the English name on the passport and other English names are used for a long period of time for reasons such as employment or study abroad and you intend to continue using the English name, (3) When family members leave the country together for reasons such as travel, immigration, study, etc., it is necessary to match the English surname written in the passport with the English surname written in the passport of another family member. (4) The spelling of the English name in the passport clearly has a negative connotation. (5) If you want to add, change, or delete your spouse's English surname to the English surname in your passport, (6) If you want to change your English name according to the changed Korean name, etc.
< Judicial Precedents Related to Refusal of Change of English Name in the Passport >
A Korean was issued a passport in 2000 by transcribing 'Jung' in her name as 'JUNG' in English. However, in 2015, while applying for a passport reissuance, he requested to change it to 'JEONG', but when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the objection, he filed an administrative lawsuit. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, saying, "Please revoke the disposition for refusing to change the English name in the passport." The reason is, "The Korean name 'Jung' recorded in Korean passports is variously written as 'JUNG', 'JEONG', 'JOUNG', 'CHUNG', etc. In particular, about 62.22% of the people under the same name spell ‘JUNG', while 28.25% of those use 'JEONG'." In addition, even if the Korean name 'Jung' is written as 'JUNG', it cannot be regarded as a case where it does not clearly match the pronunciation of the Korean name. In particular, if the English name change is widely permitted here, it will cause difficulties in the immigration screening and management of Korean nationals abroad. and the credibility of Korean passports could be lowered. Seoul Administrative Court ruling on 2015. 4. 7., “Petition Case for Cancellation of Refusal to Change the Passport English Name”.
