Korea Welcomes 15 Million Foreign Tourists In 8 Months
Faizan Hashmi | Published September 28, 2026 | 10:00 AM (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 28th Sep, 2026)
SEOUL: More than 15 million foreign tourists visited the Republic of Korea in the first eight months of this year.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organisation revealed on Monday that a total of 15.05 million visitors arrived between January and August, marking a 21.6 percent increase from the same period last year (12.38 million).
August alone witnessed a monthly record of 2.25 million visitors.
Foreign tourists spent approximately 14 trillion won (US$10.3 billion) on tourism-related card transactions during the first eight months, representing a 48.5 percent surge from 2025 and the highest figure since data collection began.
Meanwhile, Korean tourists' overseas travel reached 19.81 million between January and August this year, close to the pre-COVID-19 level of 2019 (98.7 percent).
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