South Korea Foreign Visitor Arrivals
South Korea's number of foreign visitor arrivals was 18,936,562 in 2025, up 2,566,933 from 2024, a record high. China sent the most visitors (5,480,969), followed by Japan (3,653,137) and Taiwan (1,891,414). In January–August 2026, arrivals totaled 15,048,435, 21.6% more than in the same period of 2025.
2003–2025
Data table
| Year | Foreign Visitor Arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 18,936,562 |
| 2024 | 16,369,629 |
| 2023 | 11,031,665 |
| 2022 | 3,198,017 |
| 2021 | 967,003 |
| 2020 | 2,519,118 |
| 2019 | 17,502,756 |
| 2018 | 15,346,879 |
| 2017 | 13,335,758 |
| 2016 | 17,241,823 |
| 2015 | 13,231,651 |
| 2014 | 14,201,516 |
| 2013 | 12,175,550 |
| 2012 | 11,140,028 |
| 2011 | 9,794,796 |
| 2010 | 8,797,658 |
| 2009 | 7,817,533 |
| 2008 | 6,890,841 |
| 2007 | 6,448,240 |
| 2006 | 6,155,046 |
| 2005 | 6,022,752 |
| 2004 | 5,818,138 |
| 2003 | 4,752,762 |
Top 15 countries, 2025
Data table
| Country | Foreign Visitor Arrivals |
|---|---|
| China | 5,480,969 |
| Japan | 3,653,137 |
| Taiwan | 1,891,414 |
| United States | 1,483,240 |
| Hong Kong | 623,149 |
| Philippines | 615,141 |
| Vietnam | 543,105 |
| Singapore | 399,635 |
| Indonesia | 365,596 |
| Thailand | 333,930 |
| Malaysia | 329,147 |
| Canada | 282,618 |
| Australia | 267,157 |
| Russia | 224,524 |
| India | 199,277 |
Context
This page counts foreign nationals arriving in South Korea, for any purpose — tourism, business, study or other reasons — as compiled monthly by the Korea Tourism Organization. Annual figures are shown only for complete calendar years.
Arrivals grew from 4.75 million in 2003 to 17.24 million in 2016, driven largely by visitors from China. In 2017, Chinese arrivals roughly halved, from 8.07 million to 4.17 million, after Beijing curbed group tours to South Korea amid a dispute over the deployment of the THAAD missile-defense system. Total arrivals recovered to 17.50 million in 2019, then collapsed to 2.52 million in 2020 and 0.97 million in 2021 as COVID-19 closed borders.
By 2025 the country welcomed a record 18.94 million visitors. The mix has changed: China is still the largest source, with 5.48 million visitors, but remains well below its 2016 peak, while arrivals from Japan, Taiwan and the United States all reached new highs, well above their 2019 levels.