Seoul:More than 15 million foreign tourists visited South Korea in the first eight months of this year, reaching a record high, the culture ministry and Korea Tourism Organization reported on Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 15.05 million visitors arrived between January and August, marking a 21.6 percent increase from the same period last year when 12.38 million foreign tourists were recorded. This milestone was achieved more than a month earlier than last year, with August alone seeing a monthly record of 2.25 million visitors.
Foreign tourists contributed significantly to the economy, spending 14 trillion won ($10.3 billion) on tourism-related card transactions during the first eight months of the year. This expenditure represents a 48.5 percent increase from the same period in 2025 and is the highest figure since data collection began.
Regional airports and ports accounted for 27.8 percent of the total arrivals, the highest proportion recorded this year, suggesting that tourism is expanding beyond the greater Seoul area. The inbound tourism market showed steady growth across all countries and regions, with particularly strong growth from Chinese-speaking countries.
Arrivals from China increased by 29 percent to 4.8 million, while visitors from Taiwan rose by 32.2 percent to 1.66 million. Visitor numbers from Southeast Asia also increased compared to the previous year, with 454,000 from the Philippines, 407,000 from Vietnam, 295,000 from Indonesia, 243,000 from Singapore, and 230,000 from Thailand.