South Korea's international air passenger traffic surged to a record high in January partly on a large increase in passengers to and from China, the government said Wednesday.
  

The number of international air passengers to and from South Korea reached 5.38 million in January, up 15.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
  

The increase was partly attributed to a growing number of South Koreans going abroad for vacation, along with a rise in the number of tourists from China and Southeast Asian countries.
  

The number of passengers to and from China spiked 25.3 percent on-year to some 1.26 million last month, with passengers to and from Southeast Asian countries jumping 16.8 percent to over 2.12 million, the ministry said in a press release.
  

Of all passengers on international flights to and from South Korea, 62.6 percent used flights operated by South Korean airlines, down 2.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
  

The drop in the combined market share of South Korean flag carriers came despite a 10.6 percent on-year rise in the number of their international passengers as the corresponding number for foreign carriers jumped 25.8 percent over the cited period.
  

In January, the country's overall air passenger traffic surged 15.7 percent on-year to some 7.42 million as domestic air passenger traffic also jumped 15.3 percent.
  

International cargo traffic gained 3.7 percent on-year to some 282,000 tons. (Yonhap)