The number of foreign visitors to South Korea's national parks exceeded 2 million last year, with Hallasan National Park on Jeju Island drawing the largest crowds.
Korea National Park Service (KNPS), under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, said a total of 2.05 million foreigners visited national parks over the past year. The agency estimated the figures using mobile roaming data. Of the total, 1.13 million were inbound tourists from overseas, while 920,000 were foreign residents living in South Korea.
Hallasan National Park was the most visited by inbound tourists, attracting 270,000 visitors. The popularity is attributed to the large number of foreign tourists visiting Jeju who sought to experience the island's natural scenery. Dadohaehaesang Marine National Park followed with 140,000 visitors, Taean Coast National Park with 130,000, and Hallyeohaesang Marine National Park with 130,000. Seoraksan drew 110,000 visitors, Gyeongju 100,000, Bukhansan 50,000, and Palgongsan 20,000, showing foot traffic spread across the country.
By nationality, Chinese visitors topped the list at 248,345. They were followed by Taiwanese (133,157), Filipinos (92,931), Indonesians (76,815), Americans (63,785), and Japanese (50,733).
Chinese tourists also dominated foreign arrivals to Jeju Island last year, accounting for seven out of every 10 foreign visitors. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, a total of 13,861,748 tourists visited Jeju in 2025, of whom 2,242,187 were foreigners. Chinese tourists numbered 1,588,107, making up 70.2% of all foreign visitors.
