01 · Visitors

Who visits Korea — the full numbers

Every visitor number we could verify: who came in 2026 so far, from where, why, at what age and through which airport — plus fifty years of history. All figures come from Korea Tourism Organization arrival statistics and government releases.

469 numbers10 topics13 sources

Figures checked · October 3, 2026

01.1

2026 so far

January–August 2026 ran more than a fifth ahead of 2025, and August set an all-time monthly record. September figures are usually published at the end of October.

15.05M
visitors in January–August 2026

+21.6% year on year. The 15-million mark came in August — in 2025 it took until mid-October.

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source

2.25M
arrivals in August 2026 — the busiest month on record

+23.3% on August 2025 (1,820,332).

Aug 2026 · Source

10.71M
arrivals in the first half of 2026

About 21% more than the first half of 2025 (8,825,967).

Jan–Jun 2026 · Source

19.81M
Koreans who travelled abroad, Jan–Aug 2026

Up just 2.0%, against +21.6% for foreign arrivals.

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source

Growth on the same month of 2025Change calculated from the official counts
Jan: +13.3% +13.3% Jan Feb: +25.7% +25.7% Feb Mar: +26.7% +26.7% Mar Apr: +18.8% +18.8% Apr May: +19.4% +19.4% May Jun: +23.1% +23.1% Jun Jul: +20.8% +20.8% Jul Aug: +23.3% +23.3% Aug
View as table
ItemValue
Jan+13.3%
Feb+25.7%
Mar+26.7%
Apr+18.8%
May+19.4%
Jun+23.1%
Jul+20.8%
Aug+23.3%

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Aug 2026

Monthly arrivals, 2026 vs 2025Change calculated from the official counts
Month20262025Change
Jan1,265,6581,117,243+13.3%
Feb1,431,4721,138,408+25.7%
Mar2,045,9921,614,596+26.7%
Apr2,027,8601,707,113+18.8%
May1,945,8091,629,387+19.4%
Jun1,993,1281,619,220+23.1%
Jul2,093,2231,733,199+20.8%
Aug2,245,2931,820,332+23.3%

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Aug 2026

01.2

Top markets in 2026

China, Japan and Taiwan still lead, but Indonesia has moved ahead of Singapore and several European markets are growing faster than Korea overall.

Top 20 countries, Jan–Aug 2026Arrivals · change vs Jan–Aug 2025
  1. 1 China 4,816,134+29.0%
  2. 2 Japan 2,698,857+17.5%
  3. 3 Taiwan 1,656,255+32.2%
  4. 4 United States 1,079,727+10.8%
  5. 5 Hong Kong 495,680+18.1%
  6. 6 Philippines 454,007+16.1%
  7. 7 Vietnam 406,816+10.5%
  8. 8 Indonesia 295,279+22.5%
  9. 9 Singapore 243,078+11.9%
  10. 10 Thailand 229,746+14.9%
  11. 11 Canada 210,964+15.6%
  12. 12 Malaysia 206,838+12.6%
  13. 13 Australia 185,344+13.9%
  14. 14 Russia 165,885+9.1%
  15. 15 India 159,617+18.9%
  16. 16 United Kingdom 141,530+24.6%
  17. 17 France 139,403+16.7%
  18. 18 Germany 132,460+15.3%
  19. 19 Mongolia 117,026+3.3%
  20. 20 Myanmar 92,453+62.6%

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Aug 2026

Fastest-growing markets, Jan–Aug 2026Markets with 20,000+ arrivals · change vs Jan–Aug 2025
  1. Myanmar +62.6%92,453 arrivals
  2. Sweden +55.2%22,397 arrivals
  3. Türkiye +39.7%55,819 arrivals
  4. Taiwan +32.2%1,656,255 arrivals
  5. Bangladesh +30.4%21,969 arrivals
  6. Poland +30.1%44,857 arrivals
  7. Italy +30.0%67,662 arrivals
  8. China +29.0%4,816,134 arrivals
  9. Switzerland +28.5%24,119 arrivals
  10. Macao +28.3%37,094 arrivals

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Aug 2026

Korea vs neighbouring destinations, Jan–AugInternational arrivals in each country, compiled by Korea’s tourism ministry
Jan–Aug 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
Korea12.38M15.05M+21.6%
Japan28.38M27.63M−2.7%
Thailand21.60M20.94M−3.1%
Vietnam13.91M15.91M+14.4%

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 28 Sep 2026 (KTO, JNTO, Thai and Vietnamese tourism data)

01.3

Where visitors came from in 2025

11.03M
visitors from China, Japan and Taiwan combined

58.2% of all arrivals. China alone: 28.9%.

2025 · Source

3.65M
Japanese visitors — an all-time high

Beat the 2012 record of about 3.52 million — the first new high in 13 years.

2025 · Source

1.89M
Taiwanese visitors — a record

+28.3%, the fastest growth among the top 10 markets.

2025 · Source

Top 20 countries, 2025Arrivals · change vs 2024. Hong Kong and Macao are counted separately from China.
  1. 1 China 5,480,969+19.1%
  2. 2 Japan 3,653,137+13.3%
  3. 3 Taiwan 1,891,414+28.3%
  4. 4 United States 1,483,240+12.4%
  5. 5 Hong Kong 623,149+9.1%
  6. 6 Philippines 615,141+19.0%
  7. 7 Vietnam 543,105+6.2%
  8. 8 Singapore 399,635+6.4%
  9. 9 Indonesia 365,596+8.7%
  10. 10 Thailand 333,930+3.1%
  11. 11 Malaysia 329,147+9.4%
  12. 12 Canada 282,618+11.1%
  13. 13 Australia 267,157+9.3%
  14. 14 Russia 224,524+13.9%
  15. 15 India 199,277+12.8%
  16. 16 France 180,076+9.5%
  17. 17 Germany 175,836+11.9%
  18. 18 United Kingdom 171,940+16.6%
  19. 19 Mongolia 166,901+17.6%
  20. 20 Myanmar 86,290+13.0%

2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

Fastest-growing markets, 2025Markets with 20,000+ arrivals · change vs 2024
  1. Israel +68.7%24,949 arrivals
  2. Mexico +47.7%85,503 arrivals
  3. Türkiye +30.8%60,202 arrivals
  4. Taiwan +28.3%1,891,414 arrivals
  5. Italy +28.2%81,328 arrivals
  6. Spain +25.7%59,134 arrivals
  7. Brazil +25.0%41,607 arrivals
  8. Poland +24.7%54,297 arrivals
  9. Sweden +20.6%25,135 arrivals
  10. China +19.1%5,480,969 arrivals

2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

01.4

The long view since 1975

11.14M
arrivals in 2012 — the first year above 10 million

2012 · Source

0.97M
arrivals in 2021 — the pandemic low

94.5% below 2019 and the lowest total since 1977.

2021 · Source

1,433,806
more arrivals in 2025 than in 2019, the previous record year

+8.2%.

2025 vs 2019 · Source

Foreign visitors every five years, 1975–2025
1975: 0.63M 0.63M 1975 1980: 0.98M 1980 1985: 1.43M 1985 1990: 2.96M 1990 1995: 3.75M 1995 2000: 5.32M 5.32M 2000 2005: 6.02M 2005 2010: 8.80M 2010 2015: 13.23M 13.23M 2015 2020: 2.52M 2020 2025: 18.94M 18.94M 2025
View as table
ItemValue
1975632,846
1980976,415
19851,426,045
19902,958,839
19953,753,197
20005,321,792
20056,022,752
20108,797,658
201513,231,651
20202,519,118
202518,936,562

1975–2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics (yearly, 1975–2025)

Foreign visitors by year, 2000–2025
2000: 5.32M 2000 2001: 5.15M 2002: 5.35M 2003: 4.75M 2004: 5.82M 2005: 6.02M 2005 2006: 6.16M 2007: 6.45M 2008: 6.89M 2009: 7.82M 2010: 8.80M 2010 2011: 9.79M 2012: 11.14M 2013: 12.18M 2014: 14.20M 2015: 13.23M 2015 2016: 17.24M 17.24M 2017: 13.34M 2018: 15.35M 2019: 17.50M 2020: 2.52M 2020 2021: 0.97M 0.97M 2022: 3.20M 2023: 11.03M 2024: 16.37M 2025: 18.94M 18.94M 2025
View as table
ItemValue
20005,321,792
20015,147,204
20025,347,468
20034,752,762
20045,818,138
20056,022,752
20066,155,046
20076,448,240
20086,890,841
20097,817,533
20108,797,658
20119,794,796
201211,140,028
201312,175,550
201414,201,516
201513,231,651
201617,241,823
201713,335,758
201815,346,879
201917,502,756
20202,519,118
2021967,003
20223,198,017
202311,031,665
202416,369,629
202518,936,562

2000–2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics (yearly, 1975–2025)

Foreign arrivals vs Koreans travelling abroadIn every year shown, more Koreans travelled abroad than foreigners visited Korea.
YearForeign arrivalsKoreans abroad
201513,231,65119,310,430
201617,241,82322,383,190
201713,335,75826,496,447
201815,346,87928,695,983
201917,502,75628,714,247
20202,519,1184,276,006
2021967,0031,222,541
20223,198,0176,554,031
202311,031,66522,715,841
202416,369,62928,686,435
202518,936,56229,550,177

2015–2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics (yearly, 1975–2025)

01.5

By world region

Arrivals by region
Region20252024Change 2025Share 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
Asia (incl. Middle East & Central Asia)15,241,75413,113,511+16.2%80.5%12,290,876+23.2%
Americas1,961,3971,719,511+14.1%10.4%1,437,185+12.2%
Europe1,315,5451,140,953+15.3%6.9%1,035,919+20.1%
Oceania315,069289,685+8.8%1.7%216,203+12.4%
Africa76,69470,758+8.4%0.4%57,071+10.5%
Overseas Koreans25,83834,989−26.2%0.1%11,016−37.1%

2025 · Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

0.29M
visitors from the Middle East and Central Asia

Uzbekistan 67,900, Kazakhstan 64,990, Türkiye 60,202, Israel 24,949, Saudi Arabia 20,998 — counted inside Asia.

2025 · Source

2.03M
long-haul visitors (Americas, Europe, Oceania and more), first half of 2026

+15%. The UK (103,787) and Germany (100,403) each passed 100,000 in six months.

Jan–Jun 2026 · Source

01.6

Why they come: purpose of entry

Purpose as declared at immigration. "Other" includes airline crew and overseas Koreans.

83.5%
of arrivals entered for tourism or leisure

Jan–Aug 2026: 84.3%.

2025 · Source

0.51M
arrivals to study or train

+16.2%. China 266,589, Vietnam 81,668, Mongolia 21,822, Uzbekistan 15,781, Japan 15,404.

2025 · Source

Arrivals by purpose of entryShare calculated from the official counts
Purpose2025Change 2025Share 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
Tourism / leisure15,821,073+17.3%83.5%12,691,684+24.3%
Business143,076+5.3%0.8%97,234+3.7%
Official73,303−3.2%0.4%46,402−2.1%
Study / training505,410+16.2%2.7%395,419+7.3%
Other (incl. crew, overseas Koreans)2,393,700+7.0%12.6%1,817,696+9.7%

2025 · Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

01.7

Gender and age

Crew members are counted separately and not split by gender or age.

24.9%
of arrivals were in their 20s — the largest age group

20s and 30s together: 46.3%.

2025 · Source

+31.6%
growth in visitors aged 10–19 — the fastest of any age group

1,190,157 teenagers; Chinese teens alone +57.5%.

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source

62.4%
of non-crew arrivals were women

61.4% in 2025.

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source

Arrivals by age, 2025Excluding 1,232,613 crew
0–9: 0.52M 0–9 10–19: 1.21M 10–19 20–29: 4.72M 4.72M 20–29 30–39: 4.05M 4.05M 30–39 40–49: 2.75M 2.75M 40–49 50–59: 2.18M 50–59 60–69: 1.55M 60–69 70–79: 0.63M 70–79 80+: 85,222 80+
View as table
ItemValue
0–9522,677
10–191,207,277
20–294,720,515
30–394,050,916
40–492,751,348
50–592,184,659
60–691,549,238
70–79632,097
80+85,222

2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

Arrivals by gender
2025Change 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
Women10,869,916+17.5%8,768,703+24.3%
Men6,834,033+14.3%5,274,706+18.2%
Crew (not split)1,232,613+8.0%1,005,026+16.9%

2025 · Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

Arrivals by age groupShare of all arrivals including crew
Age20252024Change 2025Share 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
0–9522,677460,426+13.5%2.8%448,244+23.4%
10–191,207,2771,007,061+19.9%6.4%1,190,157+31.6%
20–294,720,5153,966,890+19.0%24.9%3,782,514+23.1%
30–394,050,9163,446,258+17.5%21.4%3,141,875+22.8%
40–492,751,3482,365,782+16.3%14.5%2,213,567+23.0%
50–592,184,6591,957,080+11.6%11.5%1,659,297+19.4%
60–691,549,2381,399,258+10.7%8.2%1,089,869+11.7%
70–79632,097546,954+15.6%3.3%455,027+13.2%
80+85,22278,711+8.3%0.5%62,859+18.2%
Crew1,232,6131,141,209+8.0%6.5%1,005,026+16.9%

2025 · Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

Women and men from the top 10 markets, 2025Women’s share excludes crew, calculated from the official counts
MarketWomenMenCrewWomen %
China3,517,9281,786,445176,59666.3%
Japan2,450,9561,176,13126,05067.6%
Taiwan1,256,873630,1394,40266.6%
United States697,903679,056106,28150.7%
Hong Kong428,210193,1631,77668.9%
Philippines198,816183,751232,57452.0%
Vietnam249,440222,75170,91452.8%
Singapore229,256155,97514,40459.5%
Indonesia122,811114,679128,10651.7%
Thailand195,048103,14335,73965.4%

2025 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

01.8

How they arrive: airports and seaports

88.6%
of visitors arrived by air

The other 11.4% (2,151,809) came by sea.

2025 · Source

27.8%
entered through airports and seaports outside the Seoul area

Regional airports 2.83 million (+38.2%), regional seaports 1.36 million (+10.6%).

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source

+78.2%
growth in arrivals at Cheongju Airport — the fastest of any airport

Gimhae (Busan) +33.4%, Jeju +22.8%, Incheon +12.5%.

2025 · Source

Arrivals by port of entry
Port of entry20252024Change 2025Share 2025Jan–Aug 2026Change
Incheon Airport12,391,88711,013,311+12.5%65.4%9,426,616+16.9%
Gimhae Airport (Busan)1,567,9901,175,836+33.4%8.3%1,467,473+47.9%
Jeju Airport1,373,8771,118,879+22.8%7.3%1,184,763+29.4%
Gimpo Airport (Seoul)1,222,3271,052,324+16.2%6.5%977,452+24.3%
Daegu Airport118,002117,603+0.3%0.6%83,017−1.3%
Cheongju Airport105,90059,418+78.2%0.6%98,512+68.3%
Other airports4,7709,707––2,527–
All airports16,784,75314,547,078+15.4%88.6%13,240,360+21.4%
Busan Port511,732387,511+32.1%2.7%551,184+57.8%
Incheon Port243,979195,133+25.0%1.3%327,340+104.4%
Jeju Port281,909308,427−8.6%1.5%144,062−32.0%
Other seaports1,114,189931,480+19.6%5.9%785,489+4.2%
All seaports2,151,8091,822,551+18.1%11.4%1,808,075+22.6%

2025 · Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025

Seoul-area vs regional gateways, Jan–Aug 2026
ArrivalsChange
Seoul-area airports (Incheon, Gimpo)10.41M+17.5%
Seoul-area seaports0.45M+81.8%
Regional airports2.83M+38.2%
Regional seaports1.36M+10.6%
Total15.05M+21.6%

Jan–Aug 2026 · Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 28 Sep 2026 (KTO, JNTO, Thai and Vietnamese tourism data)

01.9

Seoul and cruise visitors

8.23M
foreign visitors to Seoul in the first half of 2026 (city estimate)

+21.3%, a record. Estimated as national arrivals × 76.8% Seoul visit rate. China 2.47M, Japan 1.50M, Taiwan 0.88M, US 0.62M.

Jan–Jun 2026 · Source

34.2%
of visitors travelled beyond the Seoul area

Up from 31.4% a year earlier.

Q2 2026 (provisional) · Source

0.81M
cruise visitors to Korea

About triple 2023 (273,000). 414 ship calls (203 in 2023). Jeju 640,000, Busan 152,000.

2024 · Source

0.32M
cruise visitors in the first quarter of 2026

+11.4%; 168 port calls (112 a year earlier).

Q1 2026 · Source

960
cruise port calls scheduled for 2026

588 in 2025 — a schedule, not a result.

2026 (planned) · Source

1.00M
cruise visitors a year — the government’s target for 2027

2027 (target) · Source

01.10

Targets, entry rules and foreign residents

30.00M
foreign visitors a year — the government’s goal for 2030

A "Visit Korea Year" campaign is planned for 2027–2029.

2030 (target) · Source

42
nationalities that can use automated immigration gates

Up from 18. Indonesian tour groups got a visa-free pilot from 28 May 2026.

from March 2026 · Source

2.87M
foreign nationals staying in Korea

Long- and short-term stays, including visitors present that day. The 2025 census counted 2.11 million foreign residents.

as of 31 Aug 2026 · Source

Largest nationalities among foreigners in KoreaChinese nationals of Korean descent are listed separately; combined with other Chinese nationals: 995,562
  1. 1 China (ethnic Koreans) 644,979
  2. 2 Vietnam 383,244
  3. 3 China (others) 350,583
  4. 4 United States 181,325
  5. 5 Thailand 155,432
  6. 6 Uzbekistan 107,728
  7. 7 Nepal 103,949
  8. 8 Cambodia 75,545
  9. 9 Indonesia 73,790
  10. 10 Philippines 73,757

as of 31 Aug 2026 · Source: Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service — monthly immigration statistics, Aug 2026

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All sources

  1. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 28 Sep 2026 (KTO, JNTO, Thai and Vietnamese tourism data)
  2. Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Aug 2026
  3. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 6 Aug 2026 (KTO data)
  4. Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics, Dec 2025
  5. Korea Tourism Organization — Korea Tourism Statistics (yearly, 1975–2025)
  6. Newsis, 29 Jul 2026 — citing Seoul Metropolitan Government
  7. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 28 Jul 2026 (International Visitor Survey, provisional)
  8. MCST & Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries — press release, 23 Jan 2025
  9. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 13 May 2026
  10. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 17 Jun 2024
  11. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 2 Jun 2026
  12. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — press release, 16 Apr 2026
  13. Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service — monthly immigration statistics, Aug 2026

Figures checked · October 3, 2026