Foreign tourist arrivals in South Korea exceeded 1.26 million in January, driven by sharp increases in visitors from China and Japan.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization's January tourism statistics released on the 1st, 1,265,668 foreign tourists visited Korea last month, up 13.3% from 1,117,243 in the same month last year.
By nationality, Chinese visitors topped the list at 418,703, followed by Japanese (225,351), Taiwanese (166,779), and Americans (76,212). Chinese and Japanese arrivals increased 14.9% and 29.0% year-on-year, respectively. The surge in Chinese visitors is attributed to Beijing's advisory discouraging travel to Japan, prompting tourists to choose Korea instead.
Compared to January 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese and Japanese arrivals have recovered to 106.6% and 109.1% of pre-pandemic levels. Taiwan showed explosive growth at 189.6%, while the U.S. and Philippines markets recovered to 121.5% and 131.7%, respectively.
Outbound Korean travelers also increased steadily, with 3,267,988 traveling abroad in January, up 9.9% year-on-year and reaching 112.2% of January 2019 levels.
Government Targets 30 Million Tourists by 2029
Korea welcomed a record 18.94 million foreign tourists last year. The government aims to attract 23 million visitors this year and 30 million by 2029. It has designated tourism as an export industry worth approximately 39 trillion won, planning to leverage K-culture expansion and recovering global travel demand.
To expand key markets, the government will pilot visa-free entry for Indonesian group tourists of three or more. It also plans to offer five-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals who have previously visited Korea, and ten-year multiple-entry visas to residents of major cities. The automated immigration clearance system, currently available to 18 countries including Japan, Singapore, and Australia, will expand to the European Union and other major nations.
8 in 10 Foreign Visitors Say They'll Return
A survey shows high revisit intentions among foreign tourists. Inbound platform Creatrip surveyed 100 foreign tourists using its app and website from the 7th to 15th, finding that 79% plan to revisit Korea within a year. Some 45% were repeat visitors who had come three or more times in the past three years.
K-beauty and medical tourism emerged as key attractions. Top anticipated experiences included dermatology clinics (22%), hair salons (20%), and makeup services (19%). Dermatological procedures ranked first (23%) in satisfaction surveys.
"As Korean content becomes increasingly sophisticated globally, foreign tourists' interests are becoming more specialized to expert levels," said Lim Hye-min, CEO of Creatrip.