Korea’s tourism sector crossed a milestone this June that took a little less time to reach than even last year’s record pace. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on June 24 that foreign visitor arrivals for the first half of 2026 surpassed 10 million for the first time in the country’s history, based on cumulative counts from January 1 through the third week of June, roughly a month faster than in 2025, when Korea didn’t cross that same threshold until mid-July.
May alone brought 1.95 million foreign visitors, up 19.4 percent from the same month a year earlier. By nationality, mainland Chinese visitors led the way at 560,000, followed by Japan at 360,000, visitors from the Americas at 210,000, and Taiwan at 190,000.
One of the more striking undercurrents in the data is where in Korea these visitors are actually landing. Foreign arrivals coming through regional airports outside the greater Seoul area climbed steadily throughout the year, from 230,000 in January to 360,000 by May, suggesting Korea’s tourism boom is beginning to spread beyond its traditional Seoul-Incheon gateway rather than concentrating entirely in the capital.
The spending side of the ledger tells an equally strong story. Foreign tourist card spending in Korea, including online purchases, hit 2.1 trillion won in May, the first time that figure has broken the 2 trillion won mark in a single month since tracking began in January 2018. A ministry official noted that the overall arrival growth held up even against rising fuel surcharges tied to Middle East tensions, calling the roughly 21 percent year-over-year increase in arrivals through May, followed by crossing 10 million by mid-June, evidence of “a solid growth trend in inbound tourism.” The ministry added it plans to expand cooperation with private-sector partners, including K-pop artists and export companies, to keep building international awareness of Korea’s tourism appeal.
With the pace so far in 2026 outstripping the record-breaking numbers posted in 2025, tourism officials and industry watchers alike are increasingly comfortable projecting that this year’s full-year foreign arrivals could land somewhere between 18 and 19 million, territory Korea has never come close to before.
Source: Lee Sang-seo, Yonhap News Agency via Financial News, June 24, 2026.
