Share of visitors to South Korea 2024, by origin

In 2024, approximately 80.1 percent of visitors to South Korea were from other Asian countries. Another 10.5 percent came from the Americas, while roughly seven percent originated from Europe. Among a total of 16.4 million visitors that year, Chinese and Japanese tourists made up the largest number, with around 4.6 million and 3.2 million visitors, respectively.

Tourism in South Korea after the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

South Korea’s travel and tourism market experienced a sharp decline in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market quickly recovered, reaching pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Revenue generated in this market is expected to continue growing, especially considering the increased popularity of Korean pop culture. The majority of tourists came to Korea to enjoy the food and to shop, about 16 percent came to engage in K-pop or other "hallyu"-related activities.

Medical tourism in South Korea

The previously increasing numbers of medical tourists also experienced a significant decline in 2020. As of 2023, the number of international patients has recorded a new all-time high for the country, exceeding the previous 497,500 who came to South Korea in 2019. Medical tourists were first allowed in 2009. Overall, patients expressed high satisfaction with the quality of treatment across all categories. Notably, staff service achieved the highest level of satisfaction at around 92.8 percent. These positive reviews bode well for the tourism industry overall, as 88.8 percent of medical tourists expressed their willingness to revisit South Korea for travel purposes.