South Korea welcomed a record 2.25 million international visitors in August, the highest monthly figure recorded in the country, according to its Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In the first eight months of the year, international arrivals exceeded 15.05 million, up 21.6 per cent from the same period last year. The country reached the 15-million mark one month earlier than in 2025.
Tourism-related card spending by foreign visitors rose 48.5 per cent year on year to KRW 14.018 trillion (more than USD 10 billion) during the period, also reaching a record high.
China recorded 4.816 million visitors, up 29 per cent year on year.
Arrivals from Southeast Asian countries also increased from a year earlier. The Philippines recorded 454,000 visitors, followed by Vietnam with 407,000, Indonesia with 295,000, Singapore with 243,000 and Thailand with 230,000.
Meanwhile, the number of South Koreans travelling overseas rose 0.4 per cent year on year to 2.431 million in August.
Nearly 20 million South Koreans travelled abroad in the first eight months of 2026, equivalent to about 98.7 per cent of the pre-Covid level.
