South Korea records 15.05 million foreign tourists in first eight months, highest on record

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- 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 said Monday.

A total of 15.05 million visitors arrived between January and August, up 21.6 percent from the same period last year, when 12.38 million foreign tourists were recorded.

The annual milestone was reached more than a month earlier than last year, while August alone saw a monthly record of 2.25 million visitors.

Foreign tourists spent 14 trillion won ($10.3 billion) on tourism-related card transactions during the first eight months of the year, a 48.5 percent increase from the same period in 2025 and the highest figure since data collection began.

Visitors arriving through regional airports and ports accounted for 27.8 percent of the total, the highest proportion recorded this year, indicating that tourism is spreading beyond the greater Seoul area.

The inbound tourism market grew steadily across all countries and regions, with visitors from Chinese-speaking countries showing particularly strong growth.

Arrivals from China increased 29 percent to 4.8 million, while visitors from Taiwan rose 32.2 percent to 1.66 million.

Visitor numbers from Southeast Asia also climbed from a year earlier, reaching 454,000 from the Philippines, 407,000 from Vietnam, 295,000 from Indonesia, 243,000 from Singapore and 230,000 from Thailand.