Foreign tourism to South Korea has surged in recent months despite being in the wake of one of the country's most severe political crises in decades, according to recent statistics by the state-run tourism agency.
Between December 2024 and February 2025, South Korea welcomed over 3.5 million foreign visitors, a 19.6 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization. That growth has been unexpected given that these months typically mark the off-season for tourism — and came during weeks of mass protests and traffic disruptions in Seoul.
The tourism industry had predicted a steep drop in inflow of international travelers, after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3 — an unconstitutional move that led to his impeachment and removal from office on April 4.
Currency weakness as tourism driver
Despite the political unrest, Korea has remained attractive to foreign visitors largely due to the sustained weakening of the Korean won. The currency already began falling since early October 2024, when it hovered around 1,350 won per dollar, and plunged further after martial law was declared on December 3. By mid-December, it had dropped to 1,434.80 won, peaking at 1,478.09 on Jan. 1, 2025 — its lowest level in over two years. Though it has since stabilized around the mid-1,400s, the won remains significantly weaker against the dollar and other major currencies.
In a recent field survey conducted by the KTO, an Italian traveler said, “I kept converting prices into euros while shopping, and Korean cosmetics were much cheaper than I expected. I bought a lot as gifts.” A Korean American tourist also told the KTO, “With my income in dollars, everything felt like it was on sale.”
This favorable exchange rate hasn’t just brought more visitors — it’s also driven up their spending. Between December and March, international tourists spent 2.64 trillion won (about $1.86 billion), up 13 percent from the previous year. Medical tourism saw the sharpest rise. Foreign spending on health care services jumped 80 percent to nearly 489 billion won, led by dermatology and cosmetic procedures.
According to the KTO, nearly 55 percent of foreign medical patients visited dermatology clinics, followed by plastic surgery (24.6 percent) and general health checkups (7.9 percent).
In Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district — home to many skin clinics and plastic surgery centers — some clinics are seeing daily crowds of international clients. A nurse assistant at a clinic near Gangnam Station told the KTO, “Since January, about 70 percent of our patients have been foreigners coming for fillers, laser treatments and Botox. Most are from China, Japan and Thailand.”
mjh@heraldcorp.com
