Chinese tourists who take a cruise ship to South Korea will soon be able to disembark visa-free.

The Justice Ministry announced Friday its plans to run the visa waiver program on a trial basis for six months until March.

The program applies to three specially designated cruise vessels, named the Costa Serena, Sapphire Princess and Quantum of the Seas. Those vessels travel mainly between South Korea, China and Japan.

The visa waiver applies to all international tourists aboard those ships, but most of the passengers are usually from mainland China.

Chinese cruise passengers are already able to get three days of visa-free entry, but they have to be part of a tour group arranged by a limited number of designated Chinese travel agencies.