Tourists walk around the Myeongdong shopping district in Jung District, central Seoul, on July 28.NEWS1
Korea has welcomed more foreign tourists so far this year than in all of 2025, breaking its annual record with more than two months left.
As of Tuesday, foreign visitors had surpassed last year's total of 18.94 million, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The figure is based on a provisional count of 18.91 million arrivals through Monday and a daily average of about 64,000 visitors recorded this year.
From January to September, about 17.11 million foreign tourists visited Korea, up 21.5 percent from 14.08 million a year earlier. In comparison, visitors to neighboring Japan fell 2.9 percent, and those to Thailand dropped 3.8 percent over the same period. Vietnam posted a 14.5 percent increase.
Korea drew more visitors from nearly every region. Arrivals from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau rose 29.1 percent. Arrivals from Japan rose 16.9 percent, from other parts of Asia and the Middle East 15.3 percent, and from the Americas and Europe 15.1 percent.
International visitors increasingly traveled beyond the greater Seoul area, with arrivals through airports and seaports outside the capital region rising to 4.82 million from 3.74 million in the same period last year. Visitors also made 64.72 million trips outside the capital region, up 19.7 percent from 54.07 million, based on mobile carrier data that counts anyone staying in a region for two hours or more as a visitor.
Foreign tourists spent 15.9 trillion won ($12 billion) by credit card through September, up 47.7 percent from 10.8 trillion won a year earlier. Shopping accounted for 37 percent of the total, followed by accommodation at 19.6 percent and medical and wellness services — including hospitals, pharmacies and cosmetics stores — at 16.6 percent.
Tourists watch a guard-changing ceremony at the Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, on June 14.NEWS1
The ministry expects to receive about 1.94 million foreign tourists in November. If the figure materializes, it would push the annual total past 20 million by the third week of the month, a first for Korea. The government's year-end target is 23 million inbound tourists.
The ministry credited the global spread of Korean culture, the tourism industry's efforts to meet international demand and the public's hospitality toward visitors. It also said government measures, such as elevating the National Tourism Strategy meeting to a presidential body to improve coordination among ministries, adding flights and easing visa rules, helped sustain the growth amid exchange rate fluctuations and high oil prices.
“With the all-time record for foreign visitors to Korea reached about two months early, the 23 million target we ambitiously set at the beginning of the year has come within reach,” Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young said. “It is especially encouraging that the share of arrivals through regional ports of entry and the number of regional visits are both rising. From now on, every day will be a new record for inbound tourism.”
He added, “Building on the current momentum, we will focus not only on quantitative growth but also on improving quality, and do our best to firmly establish Korea as an ‘irreplaceable travel destination’ in the global tourism market."
