Wikipedia

Tourism in South Korea

Tourism in South Korea and its industry caters to both foreign and domestic tourists.[1][2] The country has 16 World Heritage Sites, including Changdeokgung Palace, Namhansanseong and Hwaseong Fortress.[3] Seoul is the principal tourist destination for visitors. Popular tourist destinations outside of the capital include the major coastal city of Busan, the Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and subtropical Jeju Island.[4]

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace

Tourism industry

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Tourism has been encouraged by Korean government.[5] The worldwide popularity of Korean popular culture, often known as the Korean Wave (i.e. Korean entertainment products such as Korean dramas and K-pop) has significantly increased tourist arrivals.[5] Most non-Korean tourists come from East Asia and North America, such as China, Taiwan and the United States. In 2024, 16.37 million foreign tourists visited South Korea.[6]

The majority of the South Korean tourist industry is supported by domestic tourism. Thanks to the country's extensive network of trains and buses, most of the country lies within a day's round trip of any major city. International tourists come primarily from nearby countries or regions in Asia. Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan together account for roughly 75% of the total number of international tourists.[7] In addition, the Korean Wave has brought increasing numbers of tourists from Southeast Asia and India. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is targeting 100,000 arrivals from India in 2013.[8]

Actor Park Bo-gum at his appointment ceremony as honorary ambassador for South Korean tourism, July 2025

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, appoints globally-known South Korean personalities as honorary ambassadors for their campaigns to promote South Korean tourism. They have included Korean Wave figures like boy group BTS, actor Lee Jung-jae, girl group NewJeans (2024), and actor Park Bo-gum (2025).[9][10]

Domestic tourism

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The number of Korean domestic tourists has increased since 2010. The number of people who participated in domestic travel (which includes one-day trips) was about 238.3 million (in 2015), increased by 4.9% compared to 2014 (227.1 million).[11] In 2014, Korean's domestic tourism expenditure was ₩14.4 trillion.[12]

Also, Korean overseas tourist numbers have been increasing since 2010. From 2012 to 2014, the number of South Koreans travelling overseas has risen by about 8.2% on average. In 2014, number of Korean overseas tourists was about 16.1 million. And Korean overseas tourism expenditure was $19,469.9 million.[13]

Statistics

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Yearly tourist arrivals in millions[14]

In 2019, the contribution of travel and tourism to the Korean GDP was up 4.2% of the total economy (₩ 81.4 billion). Which accounted for 4.8% of total employment (1.3%). The impact of international visitors accounted for ₩ 26.5 billion (World Travel and Tourism Council).[15]

Spending habits include:

  • Leisure spending 82% vs. Business spending 18%
  • Domestic spending 55% vs. International spending 45%[16]

Arrivals

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Visitors arriving to South Korea for tourism by nationality:[17]

Country 3/2026 2025 2024202320222021202020192018
 China 1,424,326 5,480,969 4,603,273 2,019,424 227,358 170,215 686,4306,023,0214,789,512
 Japan 939,975 3,653,137 3,224,079 2,316,429 296,867 15,265 430,7423,271,7062,948,527
 Taiwan 542,670 1,891,414 1,473,908 960,607 72,925 4,130 166,7161,260,4931,115,333
 United States 309,168 1,483,240 1,320,108 1,086,415 543,648 204,025 220,4171,044,038967,992
 Philippines 153,393 615,141 516,760 342,819 199,845 116,233 115,696503,867460,168
 Vietnam 147,965 543,105 511,420 420,688 185,061 22,946 81,939553,731457,818
 Hong Kong 144,271 623,149 571,418 403,984 61,195 1,258 88,878694,934683,818
 Indonesia 97,796 365,596 336,185 250,249 106,750 46,563 66,762278,575249,067
 Thailand 85,763 333,930 323,856 379,442 179,259 8,319 76,568571,610558,912
 Malaysia 83,906 329,147 300,836 259,872 70,449 4,488 48,550408,590382,929
 Singapore 75,902 399,635 375,428 347,814 165,272 7,525 18,009246,142231,897
Canada 63,452 282,618 254,332 201,849 93,064 29,795 34,734 196,153 194,259
Australia 63,071 267,157 244,338 198,604 65,502 3,503 23,172 173,218 153,133
 Russia 47,394 224,524 197,198 158,775 60,019 32,897 73,086343,057302,542
Mongolia 45,121 166,901 141,902 135,216 62,670 5,769 21,476 113,599 113,864
India 45,024 199,277 176,668 122,771 64,829 31,338 33,830 143,367 119,791
Germany 42,334 175,836 157,185 132,720 65,107 20,038 22,254 120,730 115,789
United Kingdom 37,729 171,940 147,493 121,376 44,806 8,974 20,419 143,676 130,977
France 34,421 180,076 164,508 133,406 62,619 15,700 19,371 110,794 100,096
Myanmar 26,387 86,290 76,334 56,717 65,957 56,728 43,406 73,722 71,094
Uzbekistan 20,985 67,900 59,501 52,480 36,195 13,674 15,773 88,276 82,984
Italy 17,142 81,328 63,423 47,631 18,138 4,091 6,455 52,894 46,546
Mexico 16,784 85,503 57,888 22,141 8,676 3,472 5,726 30,481 25,192
  Nepal 16,149 51,257 40,507 37,344 27,168 2,457 6,430 26,313 25,926
Kazakhstan 15,505 64,990 54,893 46,874 30,273 7,212 10,240 52,966 52,859
Poland 13,918 54,297 43,539 29,192 11,732 4,114 5,563 23,913 21,971
Cambodia 13,882 51,694 48,084 40,935 24,901 5,414 10,725 41,734 33,395
Turkey 12,009 60,202 46,027 31,748 18,051 5,323 6,560 31,293 29,558
Spain 11,937 59,134 47,031 34,508 14,367 2,719 3,649 30,656 27,314
Netherlands 10,874 62,695 55,038 49,225 25,651 13,434 12,521 39,138 37,134
Laos 10,278 28,062 19,569 11,911 4,168 379 1,450 12,816 11,924
Brazil 9,594 41,607 33,292 22,854 8,609 1,683 3,954 23,788 19,745
New Zealand 8,725 44,632 42,177 39,956 15,722 1,660 6,598 38,954 34,205
Bangladesh 8,589 25,905 23,959 19,888 15,274 2,946 4,530 17,952 16,151
Sri Lanka 7,274 29,368 27,666 21,404 15,437 4,057 5,070 18,338 17,901
Sweden 6,429 25,135 20,837 18,974 7,455 1,525 2,188 19,709 19,503
Ukraine 5,722 23,506 22,414 15,976 13,305 14,206 11,568 27,667 25,608
 Switzerland 5,479 29,215 25,819 20,217 8,069 1,496 1,884 17,847 18,103
Denmark 4,984 17,814 15,730 13,564 6,138 1,396 2,059 13,453 12,044
South Africa 4,721 19,342 16,553 12,646 5,516 1,195 3,143 13,144 11,795
Norway 4,318 14,790 12,192 10,690 4,574 921 1,507 11,770 13,615
Romania 4,295 18,777 16,017 11,785 5,872 3,295 3,200 12,781 11,372
Pakistan 4,177 15,321 15,842 12,197 9,511 2,564 3,603 13,721 14,188
Portugal 4,008 17,466 13,919 9,536 3,827 1400 1,856 11,425 10,794
Finland 3,967 15,671 13,895 12,668 5,511 2,861 3,033 13,912 14,372
Austria 3,960 17,110 15,660 13,053 6,556 1,920 2,397 12,570 12,635
Belgium 3,718 21,388 19,626 16,878 7,728 2,148 2,497 14,539 12,499
Czech Republic 3,611 13,138 10,681 8,808 3,118 726 2,536 11,527 10,759
Ireland 3,517 14,947 12,317 9,244 3,962 875 1,631 10,211 8,723
Colombia 3,263 15,820 11,374 6,643 2,654 570 975 7,384 5,876
Kyrgyzstan 3,247 12,787 10,691 8,404 5,388 2,115 1,439 7,659 7,305
Greece 2,942 12,540 10,821 7,839 5,586 3,317 3,038 9,756 9,290
Argentina 2,940 9,849 7,236 4,883 1,691 354 969 5,153 4,832
Israel 2,728 24,949 14,789 13,425 6,266 1,039 1,445 17,102 15,328
Saudi Arabia 2,318 20,998 22,651 17,349 8,491 1,098 1,716 14,158 11,553
Chile 2,313 8,755 7,035 6,050 1,944 254 1,035 5,944 5,149
Brunei 1,987 8,069 7,212 6,700 1,447 112 723 6,795 4,876
Peru 1,954 7,490 5,623 4,718 1,386 258 760 4,745 4,140
Bulgaria 1,879 7,756 6,494 4,547 3,176 1,833 1,651 6,536 6,079
Ethiopia 1,845 9,781 10,813 8,209 4,895 3,686 3,004 7,107 4,280
Hungary 1,771 9,138 8,843 7,413 3,356 998 1,154 6,178 4,754
Croatia 1,672 7,052 6,112 3,928 2,469 1,594 2,047 5,962 6,083
Tajikistan 1,633 6,790 6,120 5,846 3,619 1,405 828 4,489 2,863
Lithuania 1,599 5,894 4,622 3,162 1,541 445 512 2,671 2,490
Egypt 1,201 7,117 6,454 5,643 3,773 1,907 1,507 5,833 7,630
United Arab Emirates 1,057 9,243 8,946 7,402 4,736 1,429 1,460 13,226 11,427
Morocco 832 5,662 4,690 3,944 2,486 737 1,085 5,009 4,284
Total 4,743,122 18,936,562 16,369,629 11,031,665 3,198,017 967,003 2,519,11817,502,75615,346,879

Total tourist numbers

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YearNumber of international visitor
arriving in S. Korea		% change from
previous year
20034,752,762-11.1
20045,818,138+22.4
20056,022,752+3.5
20066,155,046+2.2
20076,448,240+4.8
20086,890,841+6.9
20097,817,533+13.4
20108,797,658+12.5
20119,794,796+11.3
201211,140,028+13.7
201312,175,550+9.3
201414,201,516+16.6
201513,231,651-6.8
201617,241,823+30.3
201713,335,758-22.7
201815,346,879+15.1
201917,502,756+14.0
20202,519,118-85.6
2021967,003-61.6
20223,198,017+230.71
202311,031,665+244.95
202416,369,629+48.4

China

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Chinese tourists to South Korea and year-on-year rate. From March 2017, tourists plummeted in retaliation for the installation of THAAD.

China has been South Korea's largest tourism source for years. In 2016, visitors from China made up 46.8% of tourists in South Korea. However China imposed a group tour ban after the US military deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. From April 2017, Chinese tourists plummeted by more than 60% compared to the previous year.[18][19] In 2020, the South Korean tourism industry made it a long-term goal to reduce its dependency on Chinese tourists.[20]

Japan

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Japan–South Korea tourist comparison from 2005

Since Lee Myung-bak's visit to the Liancourt Rocks and his demand for an apology from the Emperor of Japan over Japanese colonialism in Korea in 2012, the Japanese public's image of South Korea deteriorated significantly. Japanese tourists to South Korea halved from 3.5 million in 2012 to 1.8 million in 2015, while South Korean tourists to Japan doubled from 2 million in 2012 to 4 million in 2015.[21][22][23]

Domestic tourism

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Year Number of domestic tourist per year[24][25][26]
2015 38,307,303
2014 38,027,454
2013 37,800,004
2012 36,914,067
2011 35,013,090
2010 30,916,690
2009 31,201,294

Destinations in Korea

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South Korea's historical tourist attractions include the ancient capitals of Seoul, Gyeongju and Buyeo.

Some natural landmarks include the peaks of the Baekdudaegan, particularly Seorak-san and Jiri-san, the caves of Danyang and Hwanseongul, and beaches such as Haeundae and Mallipo.

Apart from Jeju island, there are many smaller islands. Excursion ferries are quite common along the south and west coasts and also to Ulleung-do Island, off the east coast. Limited tourism mainly by South Koreans to the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo) has grown in recent years as a result of the political status of the rocks.

Many local districts hold annual festivals, such as the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival.

Number of Tourist by Travel Destination 2015[25]
Administrative divisions Number of tourist
Seoul 12,451,891
Busan 7,158,553
Daegu 3,163,161
Incheon 4,407,063
Gwangju 2,135,332
Daejeon 2,984,929
Ulsan 1,632,410
Sejong 333,329
Gyeonggi Province 15,451,755
Gangwon Province 11,559,005
North Chungcheong Province 5,141,110
South Chungcheong Province 9,944,616
North Jeolla Province 6,760,830
South Jeolla Province 8,063,538
North Gyeongsang Province 8,822,201
South Gyeongsang Province 8,479,567
Jeju Special Self-governing Province 4,732,494

Major tourist destinations

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Seoul

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Gyeongbokgung Palace
Bukchon Hanok Village
Deoksugung Palace

In addition, people in South Korea come to Seoul to enjoy various cultural activities.[27] Due to the metropolitan area centralization of the cultural infrastructure, there is a cultural gap between Seoul and other regions.[28] According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 36.4 percent of the total cultural infrastructure such as public library, museum, and art galleries are concentrated in Seoul. Therefore, many people in South Korea travel to Seoul.

The Seoul Trail is a walking trail that goes around the city.[29][30]

Busan

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Haeundae Beach in Busan
Haedong Yonggungsa

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea. It is located in the southeastern coast in Korea, so Busan has abundant tourist attractions such as beach and hot spring. People in South Korea visit beaches in Busan in hot summer. Also, there are various festivals in Busan. 11 festivals are held annually, including local festivals and art events. Busan sea festival is held every August and Busan International Film Festival is held every October. Jagalchi Cultural Festival is developed into a representative cultural tourism festival in Korea. Because of these various festivals and places, many people travel to Busan. Also, the influence of Social Network Service made Busan a popular tourist attraction. The official Facebook of the Busan Culture and Tourism Ministry and official blog sites promote the tourist attractions in Busan.

Daegu

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Incheon

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Gwangju

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Daejeon

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Uam Historic Park
  • Hanbat Arboretum
  • Yuseong Hot Springs
  • Expo Park
  • Daejeon Museum of Art

Gyeonggi Province

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Gangwon Province

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Seoraksan in Gangwon Province
Gyeongpo Lake in Gangneung
Sokcho

Byeolmaro Observatory, Donggang Photo Museum, Bongraesan Mountain. Hanbando terrain in Soyanggang River

  • Taebaek — Taebaek Mountain, Manggyeongsa Temple, Taebaek Mountains Literature Park, Hwangji Pond
  • Cheolwon — Cheorwon Peace Observatory, Memorial Tower of the Baekma Goji (Korean War)
  • Hoengseong — Seong Sammum's Tomb, Noeundan, Baekyasa
  • Inje —
  • Yanggu —
  • Hwacheon —

North Chungcheong Province

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Beopjusa Temple in Boeun

South Chungcheong Province

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North Jeolla Province

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Hanok Village in Jeonju
Mireuksa Temple Site in Iksan
Nagan Eupseong Folk Village in Suncheon

South Jeolla Province

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North Gyeongsang Province

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South Gyeongsang Province

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Jeju Special Self-governing Province

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Mount Halla in Jeju Island
Cheonjiyeon Waterfall in Jeju Island

Events

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South Korea has hosted several international events, including the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 1993 Taejon Expo, the 2002 FIFA World Cup (jointly hosted with Japan), the 2005 APEC conference, the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit, the 2014 Asian Games, and the 2018 Winter Olympics.

See also

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References

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0. For entering South Korea, individuals must apply ETA “K-ETA” for visiting visa free program for tourists.

  1. ↑ UNTWO (June 2008). "UNTWO World Tourism Barometer, vol. 5, n° 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  2. ↑ "International tourism, number of arrivals - Korea, Rep". World Bank. 2020.
  3. ↑ "Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List". whc.unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  4. ↑ Linda Hohnholz (March 6, 2016). "Statistics Korea: Resort island of Jeju is booming". eturbonews.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  5. 1 2 Bunnag, Chatkaphat (2025-01-28). "THE INFLUENCE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ON INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS IN SOUTH KOREA". Procedia of Multidisciplinary Research. 3 (1): 12–12.
  6. ↑ Moon Joon-hyun (February 5, 2025). "South Korea tourism surges in 2024 with record spending and arrivals". koreaherald.com. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  7. ↑ "National tourism policy review Republic of Korea" (PDF). oecd.org. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. July 2002. p. 2, Table 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ "South Korea in hot pursuit of Indians". ttgmice.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Jae-heun, Kim (2025-07-24). "Actor Park Bo-gum new face of Korea's tourism". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  10. ↑ "한국의 매력 알리는 얼굴에 '박보검'". 한국경제 (in Korean). 2025-07-29. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  11. ↑ "국민여행 총량" [Gross national travel amount] (in Korean). 2016-09-23.
  12. ↑ 이 (Lee), 태훈 (Taehun) (2016-09-06). "국내 관광 5% 늘면 1조2000억 효과" [If domestic tourism increases by 5%, its effect makes 1.2 trillion won]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  13. ↑ "2015년 12월 외래객입국·국민해외여행객 및 관광수입·지출 동향" [foreign entrance·nation outbound traveler and tourism income·expense trend December 2015]. 한국 관광 통계 (in Korean). 2016.
  14. ↑ "Global and regional tourism performance". www.unwto.org. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
  15. ↑ "OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2020". oecd-ilibrary.org. OECD iLibrary. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Travel & Tourism Economic Impact World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)". Travel & Tourism Economic Impact World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). World Travel & Tourism Council. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Visitor Arrivals". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  18. ↑ "South Korea tourism hit by China ban". BBC. 11 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "Home>Tourism Statistics > key facts on tourism > Korea, Monthly Statistics of Tourism". Korea Tourism Organization.
  20. ↑ Foundation, The Korea International Broadcasting. "한국을 대표하는 글로벌 방송! The World On Arirang!". Korea works to diversify its tourists by offering convenient services and special experiences : ARIRANG. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  21. ↑ "Aide's memoir tells why S. Korean president demanded apology from emperor". The Asahi Shimbun. January 6, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Foreign visitors to Japan" (PDF). Japan National Tourism Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-27.
  23. ↑ "Press release" (PDF). Japan National Tourism Organization.
  24. ↑ "2012국민여행실태조사최종보고서" [Korean National Tourism Survey 2012]. Korea Tourism Organization (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  25. 1 2 "2015국민여행실태조사보고서" [Korea National Tourism Survey 2015]. Korea Tourism Organization (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  26. ↑ "2009년국민여행실태조사" [Korea National Tourism Survey 2009]. Korea Tourism Organization (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  27. ↑ 조 (Jo), 용철 (Yongcheol) (2016-10-10). "지역간 문화격차 '참담'" [Cultural gap between regions are big problem] (in Korean). The Financial News.
  28. ↑ 김(Kim), 동민(Dongmin) (2016-10-13). "이종배 "문화 향유기회 확대 및 문화격차 해소해야"" ["Expand the scope of cultures and eliminate cultural gaps" Lee Jongbae] (in Korean). 충북일보(Chungbugilbo).
  29. ↑ "About Seoul Trail". Seoul Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  30. ↑ Cho, Jung-woo (2024-06-23). "Seoul Trail hike gives international students taste of city's greener side". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2024-07-10.

Further reading

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  • Korean Overseas Information Service (2004). Handbook of Korea 4th ed. Seoul: Hollym. ISBN 978-1-56591-212-0.
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