In the first half of 2026, South Korea welcomed 10.71 million foreign tourists, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. This figure represents a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year and is 26.9% higher than the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization's 'June 2026 Korea Tourism Statistics' released on July 23, the number of inbound tourists from January to June reached 10.71 million. This marks a 21.3% rise from the same period last year and is 126.9% of the number recorded in 2019.
In June alone, the number of visitors was 199,312, an increase of 23.1% from the same month last year, and it has recovered to 135.0% of June 2019 levels.
By country, China led with 649,582 visitors, followed by Japan with 348,216, Taiwan with 223,127, the United States with 177,744, and Hong Kong with 65,690. Year-over-year growth rates for June showed increases of 36.2% for China, 35.3% for Taiwan, 21.3% for Japan, 17.1% for Hong Kong, and 6.9% for the United States.
Compared to pre-pandemic figures, Taiwan showed the most significant recovery, reaching 188.4% of its June 2019 numbers. The United States followed at 168.6%, China at 136.8%, Japan at 123.3%, and Hong Kong at 106.4%. Regionally, the North American market was at 147.0% of 2019 levels, while the Asia and Middle East market stood at 116.8%.
In contrast, the number of South Koreans traveling abroad decreased. In June, 2,004,723 citizens traveled overseas, a 10.0% decline from the same month last year. However, the cumulative number of outbound travelers for the first half of the year reached 14.96 million, recovering to 99.7% of the levels seen in the same period of 2019.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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