Korea Ranked 2nd in Powerful Passport List

Which countries have the most powerful passports?

The latest rankings were released in early October, and Korea remained high on the list.

The Henley Passport Index is a global ranking system that was launched in 2005.

In evaluates 199 different countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by their citizens.

Henley & Partners, the company behind the index, analyzes of all the countries and territories in the world.

Then, it lists the number of locations that an individual passport can access without applying for a separate visa.

This "visa-free" status is notable because it shows the benefits given to the country's citizens when going abroad.

This not only results in ease of travel, but also more overseas opportunities.

At the same time, it sheds light on the level of friendships and alliances that each nation has established around the world.

In the latest rankings, Singapore and Japan shared the top spot, as the passports of these nations offer easy access to 190 countries and territories.

Meanwhile, Korea shared second place with Finland and Germany.

The citizens of these three nations are able to enter 188 destinations without a prior visa.

By contrast, Afghanistan remained at the bottom of the rankings.

Its citizens are given visa-free access to only 25 countries and territories.

Other countries with weak passports include Syria and Pakistan.

The low ranks of these nations reflect the great amount of restrictions faced by their citizens when traveling abroad.

They also may show that these countries have yet to establish good economic and social relations on a global scale.

 

• evaluate  ɪˈvæljueɪt   (양·가치·품질 등을) 평가하다[감정하다] (=assess)  shed  ʃed   (원하지 않는 것을) 없애다[버리다] /   (…을) 보관하는 곳, (작은) 헛간

• shed light on …을 비추다; 밝히다, 해명하다.   alliance  əˈlaɪəns  동맹, 연합  ally  ˈælaɪ  동맹국   prior  ˈpraɪə   (다른 무엇특정 시간보다) 사전의 ,  (…보다) 우선하는

• result in 그 결과 ~가 되다

• reflect  rɪˈflekt  (사물의 속성·사람의 태도·감정을) 나타내다[반영하다] , (빛·열·음을) 반사하다, 반향을 일으키다 ,  (거울·유리·물 위에 상을) 비추다

• restriction  rɪˈstrɪkʃn    (법률·규칙을 통한) 제한[규제]   restrict  rɪˈstrɪkt    (크기·양·범위 등을) 제한[한정]하다

• have yet to do  아직 …하지 않았다