South Korea witnessed a significant increase in foreign tourist arrivals, reflecting the continued recovery of its tourism sector to pre-pandemic levels. Official data released by the Korea Tourism Organization showed that international visitor numbers rose sharply, marking one of the strongest months for inbound travel in recent years.

Approximately 1.6 million foreign tourists visited the country during the month, representing a year-on-year growth of over 17 percent. The figure also exceeded visitor levels recorded during the same period before the pandemic, highlighting South Korea’s growing appeal as a global travel destination.

China continued to remain the largest source market for inbound tourism, followed closely by Japan. Other major contributors included Taiwan, the United States and the Philippines. While arrivals from China recovered to nearly three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels, visitor numbers from Japan showed particularly strong momentum, recording a sharp surge compared to earlier benchmarks.

Cumulatively, foreign tourist arrivals during the year reached over 17 million, registering double-digit growth compared to the previous year and surpassing pre-pandemic totals. Chinese visitors accounted for nearly one-third of the total arrivals, underlining the importance of the market to South Korea’s tourism ecosystem.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has projected that total foreign tourist arrivals for the year will reach a new all-time high, moving close to the symbolic 20 million mark. If achieved, this would surpass the previous record set before the pandemic and reinforce South Korea’s position as one of Asia’s fastest-recovering tourism markets.