Tourism in South Korea


Tourism in South Korea refers to the tourist industry in the Republic of Korea. In 2012, 11.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea, making it the 20th most visited country in the world, and the 6th most visited in Asia. Most non-Korean tourists come from other parts of East Asia such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The recent popularity of Korean popular culture, often known as the "Korean Wave", in these countries has increased tourist arrivals. Seoul is the principal tourist destination for visitors; popular tourist destinations outside of Seoul include the major coastal city of Busan, the Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and subtropical Jeju Island. Traveling to North Korea is not normally possible without a special permission, but in recent years organized group tours have allowed groups of South Korean citizens to visit Mount Kumgang.

Korean tourism industry

The majority of the South Korean tourist industry is supported by domestic tourism. Thanks to the country's extensive network of trains and buses, most of the country lies within a day's round trip of any major city.
International tourists come primarily from nearby countries in Asia. Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan together account for roughly 75% of the total number of international tourists. In addition, the Korean Wave has brought increasing numbers of tourists from Southeast Asia and India. The Korea Tourism Organization is targeting 100,000 arrivals from India in 2013.

Travel destinations of Korean tourists

The number of Korean domestic tourists has increased since 2010. The number of people who participated in domestic travel was about 238.3 million. It increased by 4.9% compared to 2014. In 2014, Korean's domestic tourism expenditure was ₩14.4 trillion.
Also, Korean oversea tourists keep increasing since 2010. From 2012 to 2014, the number of people travelling overseas has risen by about 8.2% on average. In 2014, number of Korean oversea tourists was about 16.1 million. And Korean oversea tourism expenditure was $19,469.9 million.

History

In the past, South Koreans were not likely to travel overseas, due to the Korean War and subsequent economic difficulties, as well as government restrictions on overseas travel, with passports issued only for a narrow range of reasons, such as traveling abroad on government businesses, for technical training, and so on. Since the 1960s, overseas travel restrictions and regulations have been continuously reviewed to prevent foreign currency waste from traveling abroad. However, during the 1980s, the liberalization of international travel has begun to take place in catering to the globalization of the South Korea society. Since then, South Koreans have been able to travel freely abroad.
The busy lifestyle of modern South Koreans, leading to difficulties in mediating vacations with family or friends, and the increase in one-person households, have contributed to the growing number of South Koreans traveling alone. Therefore, the popularity of destinations close to South Korea, where South Koreans can go for short vacations alone, are increasing. According to the results of a plane ticket analysis in 2016, the top foreign destination for South Koreans is Osaka, followed by Bangkok and Tokyo. Moreover, Osaka, Tokyo, and Shanghai have high re-visit rates for South Koreans. However European destinations such as London, Paris, and Rome have fallen in re-visit rating, due to geographical distances, expensive air fares and high costs.
International tourists typically enter the country through Incheon International Airport, near Seoul, which was found to be the world's best airport in 2006. Also international airports in Busan and Jeju are frequently used.

Statistics

In 2013, travel and tourism directly contributed KRW26.7 trillion to South Korean GDP and directly supported 617,500 jobs in the country.

Arrival

Visitors arriving to South Korea for tourism by nationality:
RankCountry20192018201720162015
1China6,023,0214,789,5124,169,3538,067,7225,984,170
2Japan3,271,7062,948,5272,311,4472,297,8931,837,782
3Taiwan1,260,4931,115,333925,616833,465518,190
4United States1,044,038967,992868,881866,186767,613
5Hong Kong694,934683,818658,031650,676523,427
6Thailand571,610558,912498,511470,107371,769
7Vietnam553,731457,818324,740251,402162,765
8Philippines503,867460,168448,702556,745403,622
9Malaysia408,590382,929307,641311,254223,350
10Russia343,057302,542270,427233,973188,106
11Indonesia278,575249,067230,837295,461193,590
12Singapore246,142231,897216,170221,548160,153
Total17,502,75615,346,87913,335,75817,241,82313,231,651-

YearNumber of international visitor
arriving in S. Korea		% change from
previous year
20034,752,762-11.1
20045,818,138+22.4
20056,022,752+3.5
20066,155,046+2.2
20076,448,240+4.8
20086,890,841+6.9
20097,817,533+13.4
20108,797,658+12.5
20119,794,796+11.3
201211,140,028+13.7
201312,175,550+9.3
201414,201,516+16.6
201513,231,651-6.8
201617,241,823+30.3
201713,335,758-22.7
201815,346,879+15.1
201917,502,756+14.0

China

China has been South Korea's largest tourism source for years. In 2016, visitors from China made up 46.8% of tourists in South Korea. However China imposed the group tour ban after the US military started to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea. From April 2017, Chinese tourists plummeted by more than 60% compared to the previous year. In recent years, the South Korean tourism industry has made it a long term goal to reduce dependency on Chinese tourists.

Japan

Since Lee Myung-bak's visit to the Liancourt Rocks and his demand for an apology from the Emperor of Japan over Japanese colonialism in Korea in 2012, the Japanese public's image of South Korea deteriorated significantly. Japanese tourists to South Korea declined by half from 3.5 million in 2012 to 1.8 million in 2015, while South Korean tourists to Japan doubled from 2 million in 2012 to 4 million in 2015.

Domestic tourist

YearNumber of domestic tourist per year
201538,307,303
201438,027,454
201337,800,004
201236,914,067
201135,013,090
201030,916,690
200931,201,294

Destination in Korea

Administrative divisionsNumber of tourist
Seoul12,451,891
Busan7,158,553
Daegu3,163,161
Incheon4,407,063
Gwangju2,135,332
Daejeon2,984,929
Ulsan1,632,410
Sejong333,329
Gyeonggi Province15,451,755
Gangwon Province11,559,005
North Chungcheong Province5,141,110
South Chungcheong Province9,944,616
North Jeolla Province6,760,830
South Jeolla Province8,063,538
North Gyeongsang Province8,822,201
South Gyeongsang Province8,479,567
Jeju Special Self-governing Province4,732,494

Departure

YearNumber of overseas trip tourist
201519,310,430
201416,080,684
201314,846,485
201213,736,976
201112,693,733
201012,488,364
20099,494,111

Tourist attractions

South Korea's historical tourist attractions include the ancient capitals of Seoul, Gyeongju and Buyeo.
Some natural landmarks include the peaks of the Baekdudaegan, particularly Seorak-san and Jiri-san, the caves of Danyang and Hwanseongul, and beaches such as Haeundae and Mallipo.
Apart from Jeju island, there are many smaller islands. Excursion ferries are quite common along the south and west coasts and also to Ulleung-do Island, off the east coast. Limited tourism mainly by South Koreans to the Liancourt Rocks has grown in recent years as a result of the political status of the rocks.
Many local districts hold annual festivals, such as the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival.

Major tourist destinations

[Seoul]

The population of Seoul is 9,981,673 and it's the largest city in South Korea. As many people gather, there are many cultural spaces such as festivals, performances, shopping places, and tourist attractions in Seoul.
To foreigners, Seoul is an attractive place because traditional Korean culture and modern culture co-exists.
In addition, people in South Korea come to Seoul to enjoy various cultural activities. Due to the metropolitan area centralization of the cultural infrastructure, there is a cultural gap between Seoul and other regions. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 36.4 percent of the total cultural infrastructure such as public library, museum, and art galleries are concentrated in Seoul. Therefore, many people in South Korea travel to Seoul.
Busan is the second largest city in South Korea. It is located in the southeastern coast in Korea, so Busan has abundant tourist attractions such as beach and hot spring. People in South Korea visit beaches in Busan in hot summer. Also, there are various festivals in Busan. 11 festivals are held annually, including local festivals and art events. Busan sea festival is held every August and Busan International Film Festival is held every October. Jagalchi Cultural Festival is developed into a representative cultural tourism festival in Korea. Because of these various festivals and places, many people travel to Busan. Also, the influence of Social Network Service made Busan a popular tourist attraction. The official Facebook of the Busan Culture and Tourism Ministry and official blog sites promote the tourist attractions in Busan.
Byeolmaro Observatory, Donggang Photo Museum, Bongraesan Mountain. Hanbando terrain in Soyanggang River

[South Jeolla Province]

South Korea has hosted many international events, including the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 1993 Taejon Expo, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 2005 APEC conference, the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit, the 2014 Asian Games, and the 2018 Winter Olympics.