Tourism in South Korea

Tourism in South Korea and its industry caters to both foreign and domestic tourists. The country has 16 World Heritage Sites, including Changdeokgung Palace, Namhansanseong and Hwaseong Fortress. 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. Tourism industry

Tourism has been encouraged by Korean government. 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. 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.

South Korea's tourism growth accelerated further into 2026, with foreign arrivals surpassing 10 million by the third week of June, a significantly faster pace than the previous year. The surge was led primarily by nearby Asian markets, including China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Vietnam, alongside a recovery in long haul travel from the Americas and Europe. Growth was supported in part by expanded air connectivity, including a bilateral agreement between South Korea and China that added approximately 70 weekly flights.

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. 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. 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).

Domestic tourism

According to the National Survey of Domestic Travel conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, Koreans made about 291.8 million domestic trips in 2024, covering both leisure and other purposes such as business and visiting relatives. In the same year, total domestic tourism expenditure reached ₩36.8 trillion.

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.

Statistics

+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions

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).

Spending habits include: Leisure spending 82% vs. Business spending 18% Domestic spending 55% vs. International spending 45%

Arrivals Visitors arriving to South Korea for tourism by nationality:

Country7/202620252024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 3,988,4305,480,9694,603,2732,019,424227,358170,215686,430 6,023,021 4,789,512 2,280,1593,653,1373,224,0792,316,429296,86715,265430,742 3,271,706 2,948,527 1,410,9781,891,4141,473,908960,60772,9254,130166,716 1,260,493 1,115,333 962,4231,483,2401,320,1081,086,415543,648204,025220,417 1,044,038 967,992 416,888623,149571,418403,98461,1951,25888,878 694,934 683,818 405,831615,141516,760342,819199,845116,233115,696 503,867 460,168 347,517543,105511,420420,688185,06122,94681,939 553,731 457,818 259,491365,596336,185250,249106,75046,56366,762 278,575 249,067 224,221399,635375,428347,814165,2727,52518,009 246,142 231,897 209,998333,930323,856379,442179,2598,31976,568 571,610 558,912 187,073329,147300,836259,87270,4494,48848,550 408,590 382,929 184,576282,618254,332201,84993,06429,79534,734196,153194,259168,587267,157244,338198,60465,5023,50323,172173,218153,133142,370224,524197,198158,77560,01932,89773,086 343,057 302,542 138,115199,277176,668122,77164,82931,33833,830143,367119,791121,686171,940147,493121,37644,8068,97420,419143,676130,977115,502180,076164,508133,40662,61915,70019,371110,794100,096113,944175,836157,185132,72065,10720,03822,254120,730115,789102,066166,901141,902135,21662,6705,76921,476113,599113,86478,20486,29076,33456,71765,95756,72843,40673,72271,09454,22885,50357,88822,1418,6763,4725,72630,48125,19250,36781,32863,42347,63118,1384,0916,45552,89446,54647,71760,20246,02731,74818,0515,3236,56031,29329,55842,89264,99054,89346,87430,2737,21210,24052,96652,85941,37067,90059,50152,48036,19513,67415,77388,27682,98441,12362,69555,03849,22525,65113,43412,52139,13837,13438,05054,29743,53929,19211,7324,1145,56323,91321,97135,61959,13447,03134,50814,3672,7193,64930,65627,31434,22051,69448,08440,93524,9015,41410,72541,73433,39532,75951,25740,50737,34427,1682,4576,43026,31325,92627,93641,60733,29222,8548,6091,6833,95423,78819,74525,45744,63242,17739,95615,7221,6606,59838,95434,20525,12928,06219,56911,9114,1683791,45012,81611,92421,35629,21525,81920,2178,0691,4961,88417,84718,10319,98825,13520,83718,9747,4551,5252,18819,70919,50317,74625,90523,95919,88815,2742,9464,53017,95216,15116,57529,36827,66621,40415,4374,0575,07018,33817,90115,92823,50622,41415,97613,30514,20611,56827,66725,60814,31021,38819,62616,8787,7282,1482,49714,53912,49913,80817,81415,73013,5646,1381,3962,05913,45312,04413,41518,77716,01711,7855,8723,2953,20012,78111,37212,92224,94914,78913,4256,2661,0391,44517,10215,32812,57714,79012,19210,6904,5749211,50711,77013,61511,61417,46613,9199,5363,82714001,85611,42510,79411,45519,34216,55312,6465,5161,1953,14313,14411,79511,13615,82011,3746,6432,6545709757,3845,87611,02417,11015,66013,0536,5561,9202,39712,57012,63510,78615,67113,89512,6685,5112,8613,03313,91214,37210,36514,94712,3179,2443,9628751,63110,2118,72310,27413,13810,6818,8083,1187262,53611,52710,7599,18515,32115,84212,1979,5112,5643,60313,72114,1888,71020,99822,65117,3498,4911,0981,71614,15811,5538,24612,54010,8217,8395,5863,3173,0389,7569,2907,93312,78710,6918,4045,3882,1151,4397,6597,3057,2269,8497,2364,8831,6913549695,1534,8326,2589,1388,8437,4133,3569981,1546,1784,7545,9879,78110,8138,2094,8953,6863,0047,1074,2805,8047,4905,6234,7181,3862587604,7454,1405,3427,7566,4944,5473,1761,8331,6516,5366,0795,2028,7557,0356,0501,9442541,0355,9445,1494,3967,0526,1123,9282,4691,5942,0475,9626,0834,3386,7906,1205,8463,6191,4058284,4892,8634,3275,8944,6223,1621,5414455122,6712,4903,9188,0697,2126,7001,4471127236,7954,8763,8029,2438,9467,4024,7361,4291,46013,22611,4273,7057,1176,4545,6433,7731,9071,5075,8337,6302,8635,6624,6903,9442,4867371,0855,0094,284Total 12,803,14218,936,56216,369,62911,031,6653,198,017967,0032,519,118 17,502,756 15,346,879

Total tourist numbers Year Number of international visitorarriving in S. Korea % change fromprevious year 2003 4,752,762 -11.1 2004 5,818,138 +22.4 2005 6,022,752 +3.5 2006 6,155,046 +2.2 2007 6,448,240 +4.8 2008 6,890,841 +6.9 2009 7,817,533 +13.4 2010 8,797,658 +12.5 2011 9,794,796 +11.3 2012 11,140,028 +13.7 2013 12,175,550 +9.3 2014 14,201,516 +16.6 2015 13,231,651 -6.8 2016 17,241,823 +30.3 2017 13,335,758 -22.7 2018 15,346,879 +15.1 2019 17,502,756 +14.0 2020 2,519,118 -85.6 2021 967,003 -61.6 2022 3,198,017 +230.71 2023 11,031,665 +244.95 2024 16,369,629 +48.4

China

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. In 2020, the South Korean tourism industry made it a long-term goal to reduce its dependency on Chinese tourists.

Japan

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.

Domestic tourism

YearNumber of domestic tourist per year201538,307,303201438,027,454201337,800,004201236,914,067201135,013,090201030,916,690200931,201,294

Destinations in Korea

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 2015Administrative divisionsNumber of touristSeoul12,451,891Busan7,158,553Daegu3,163,161Incheon4,407,063Gwangju2,135,332Daejeon2,984,929Ulsan1,632,410Sejong333,329Gyeonggi Province15,451,755Gangwon Province11,559,005North Chungcheong Province5,141,110South Chungcheong Province9,944,616North Jeolla Province6,760,830South Jeolla Province8,063,538North Gyeongsang Province8,822,201South Gyeongsang Province8,479,567Jeju Special Self-governing Province4,732,494

Major tourist destinations

Seoul

In addition, people in South Korea come to Seoul to enjoy various cultural activities. Due to the metropolitan area centralization of the cultural infrastructure, there is a cultural gap between Seoul and other regions. 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. Gyeongbokgung Palace Changdeokgung Palace Deoksugung Palace Gwanghwamun Square Fortress Wall of Seoul 63 Building N Seoul Tower Bukchon Hanok Village War Memorial of Korea Jogyesa Temple National Museum of Korea Cheonggyecheon The Seoul Trail is a walking trail that goes around the city.

Busan

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. Haeundae Beach Beomeosa Temple Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Geumjeongsanseong Fortress Dongnaeeupseong Fortress