A survey evaluating the influence of passports from countries around the world found that Korea held on to second place.
According to the "Henley Passport Index 20th Anniversary Report" released on the 22nd by global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, Korea can travel freely to 188 countries with either visa-free access or a visa on arrival.
Neighboring Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also ranked jointly at No. 2 alongside Korea. No. 1 was Singapore, which allows entry to 192 countries with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.
Comparing the figures with those from 2006, when the survey first began, the changes by country are clear. Korea added 73 destinations with free access, Japan added 60, and the United Arab Emirates added 153.
The United States, by contrast, fell to 10th in this assessment, with access to only 180 countries. Although the United States ranked first back in 2006, when the initial survey was conducted, it appears to have gradually lost strength. Considering that there are 36 countries above the United States (including ties), it is effectively 37th.
One reason the United States struggled is that it does not receive visa exemptions when visiting China, which acted as a stumbling block. CNN said, "This index, which tracks the travel freedom provided by passports worldwide based on the number of destinations a passport holder can visit without a visa or with a visa on arrival, shows that the U.S. passport is no longer among the most powerful."
At the bottom of this survey was Afghanistan, with access to only 22 countries. North Korea had access to just 35 countries, ranking 97th, and belonged to the group with the weakest passports in the world alongside Nepal, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria.