"Korea is a country I want to visit again. It's now my 'regular' destination."
The response from foreigners who have recently visited Korea goes beyond simple goodwill. Tourists who have visited once are already planning their next trip, while Japanese millennials and Gen Z are mapping out "day-trip beauty travel" itineraries to Korea. The trend of directly experiencing and consuming Korea, beyond just consuming K-content, is becoming increasingly clear.
"I'll Return Within a Year": 8 in 10 Respondents; 45% Are Repeat Visitors
According to a survey by inbound travel platform Creatrip released on the 26th, 79% of respondents said they would revisit Korea within the next year. "Repeat visitors" who have traveled to Korea three or more times in the past three years accounted for 45%.
While first-time visitors focus on Seoul, travel destinations expand to regional areas with each return visit. Busan ranked first (70%) among preferred destinations for repeat visits, followed by evenly distributed interest in Jeju, Jeonju, Gyeongju, and Yeosu.
Demand is also growing for region-specific programs such as traditional medicine tours at Daegu's Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market, hanok stays in Gyeongju, and bibimbap and hanji craft experiences in Jeonju. Gyeongju was frequently mentioned among tourists who visited Korea three or more times, indicating that interest in historical and traditional culture grows with each visit.
The nature of travel is also changing. "Digging"-style tourism—where visitors learn and experience rather than simply sightsee—is spreading. The most anticipated services among foreign visitors were in beauty and medical fields: dermatology clinics (22%), hair salons (20%), and makeup services (19%). Dermatological procedures (23%) also ranked first in satisfaction surveys.
These were followed by "specialized experience" products including K-pop dance classes (20%), makeup lessons (18%), and Korean cooking classes (16%). Analysts say demand is growing for hands-on learning and experiencing the Korean lifestyle.
Japanese MZ Generation Embraces "Day-Trip Beauty Travel to Korea"; Dermatology Accounts for 56%
This trend is confirmed by statistics. According to the "2024 Foreign Patient Attraction Performance Statistical Analysis Report" released by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute in August last year, the number of foreign patients who received medical treatment in Korea reached 1,170,467—a 93.2% increase year-over-year and surpassing one million for the first time.
Among them, dermatology patients numbered 705,044, the highest of any specialty. This figure nearly tripled compared to 2023 (239,060) and increased 117-fold over 15 years compared to 6,015 in 2009. Dermatology accounted for 56.6% of all foreign patient visits, exceeding half of the total. Plastic surgery (11.4%), internal medicine (10.0%), and health screening centers (4.5%) followed. At the clinic level, dermatology accounted for 72.6%.
By nationality, Japanese patients comprised 43.7%, followed by Chinese (24.4%), Taiwanese (9.6%), Americans (5.7%), and Thai (3.5%).
"Day-trip beauty travel to Korea" has become particularly trendy among Japan's MZ generation.
Female tourists are increasingly taking early morning flights to arrive in Korea, visiting dermatology clinics and dental offices as soon as they open for skin treatments, teeth whitening, eyelash perms, and minor cosmetic procedures. They then explore restaurants and shop for cosmetics before catching evening flights back to Japan. Japanese vloggers call this a "self-care day" and post videos of their experiences.
Male tourists typically take 7-9 PM flights to Seoul, enjoy the nightlife, briefly stay at 24-hour restaurants, jjimjilbangs (Korean spas), PC cafes, or budget accommodations, and then return home.
Comments on social media include "I'm planning a beauty trip to Korea too" and "I'm amazed you can pack so much into a trip without staying overnight." Korean airport duty-free shops and cosmetics stores have become staples of the "final shopping stop."
"As Korean content becomes increasingly sophisticated globally, foreign tourists' interests are also becoming segmented at an expert level," said Lim Hye-min, CEO of Creatrip. "We will develop in-depth experience products tailored to individual preferences by utilizing local resources from across the country."
