Inbound tourism to South Korea surpassed pre-pandemic levels by more than 14% in January, signaling a full recovery phase for the industry. The rebound reflects structural improvement rather than dependence on any single market, with simultaneous growth from China, Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Southeast Asia.
According to the "January 2026 Korea Tourism Statistics" released by the Korea Tourism Organization on the 27th, 1,265,658 foreign tourists visited Korea in January, up 13.3% from 1,117,243 in the same month last year. This represents 114.6% of January 2019 levels, exceeding pre-pandemic figures.
By country, China led with 418,703 visitors, followed by Japan (225,351), Taiwan (166,779), and the United States (76,212). China and Japan posted year-on-year increases of 14.9% and 29.0% respectively, driving the overall recovery.
The simultaneous rebound across multiple markets stands out. This suggests inbound demand is expanding beyond short-haul group tours to include independent travelers and medium- to long-haul markets.
While China and Japan recovered to 106.6% and 109.1% of January 2019 levels respectively, Taiwan surged to 189.6%, the U.S. to 121.5%, and the Philippines to 131.7%. By region, the Asia-Middle East market reached 116.4% of 2019 levels, while the Americas and Europe recovered to 102.3%.
Outbound travel by Korean nationals also rose. In January, 3,267,988 Koreans traveled abroad, up 9.9% year-on-year and reaching 112.2% of January 2019 levels. Both inbound and outbound tourism now exceed pre-pandemic figures, marking a "two-way recovery."
Industry observers see this as the beginning of a re-expansion phase rather than mere recovery. As the government pursues strategies to attract 30 million visitors—beyond the previous 20 million milestone—these statistics serve as a leading indicator that policy measures such as visa relaxation and regional dispersion strategies may be yielding measurable results.