More than 15 million foreign tourists visited Korea during the first eight months of the year, marking a 21.6% increase from the same period in 2025, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organisation.
A total of 15.05
million international visitors arrived between January and August, while August
alone recorded a monthly high of 2.25 million tourists.
Tourism-related card
spending by foreign visitors reached 14 trillion won ($10.3 billion) during the
eight-month period, up 48.5% year on year and the highest level since records
began.
Meanwhile, 19.81
million South Korean residents travelled overseas during the same period,
reaching 98.7% of the corresponding 2019 level, before the COVID-19 pandemic. -TTN