Korea is estimated to have welcomed more than 20 million foreign visitors this year as of Thursday, the first time the country has crossed that mark, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.
The milestone comes 14 years after Korea first drew 10 million international tourists in 2012. The ministry based the estimate on a provisional 19.97 million arrivals through Wednesday and a daily average of about 64,000 visitors this year. Every figure added through the end of December will set a new annual record.
The growth has carried over into spending and travel beyond Seoul. Foreign tourists spent 15.94 trillion won ($12 billion) on tourism from January to September, up 47.7 percent from 10.79 trillion won a year earlier. Through September, 3.24 million visitors entered through airports outside the capital region, such as Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju and Daegu, up 37.4 percent and accounting for 19 percent of all arrivals. Another 1.58 million came in through seaports including Busan, Jeju and Yeosu, a 14.5 percent increase.
The ministry credited the rise to the global spread of Korean culture, despite instability in the Middle East and high oil prices earlier in the year. In its 2026 overseas Hallyu survey of 27,000 people in 30 countries, more respondents said Korean food was popular in their country, at 55 percent, than those who said the same of Korean music, at 54 percent, or dramas, at 51 percent. Sixty-five percent said Hallyu made them more likely to buy Korean products and services, up from 58 percent two years earlier.
“Surpassing 20 million foreign tourists is the starting point for Korea’s leap to becoming an irreplaceable tourism powerhouse,” Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young said, adding that the ministry would prepare to host 30 million visitors and eventually 40 million.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
