1.26 Million Foreign Tourists Visited Korea in January... 114% of Pre-COVID-19 Levels
Korea Tourism Organization's January Statistics
China and Japan Show Recovery, While Taiwan and the United States See Further Growth
In January of this year, the number of inbound foreign tourists to Korea exceeded 1.26 million, marking a clear recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels.
A foreign tourist family is experiencing washing their hair with calamus water to celebrate Dano at Ochondaek, the National Folk Museum located in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
View original imageAccording to the "Korea Tourism Statistics for January 2026" released by the Korea Tourism Organization on February 27, the number of inbound foreign tourists to Korea in January reached 1,265,658, representing a 13.3% increase compared to the same month last year (1,117,243). This figure is 114.6% of the level recorded in January 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the Korean tourism market has entered a full recovery phase.
By country, China accounted for the largest number with 418,703 visitors, followed by Japan (225,351), Taiwan (166,779), the United States (76,212), and the Philippines (40,126). The Chinese and Japanese markets each recovered to 106.6% and 109.1% of their January 2019 levels, respectively. Taiwan reached 189.6%, and the United States 121.5%, both significantly surpassing their pre-pandemic levels.
By region, Asia and the Middle East recorded a recovery rate of 116.4% compared to 2019, while Europe and the Americas reached 102.3%. Notably, non-China Greater China regions (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau) achieved a recovery rate of 163.6%, showing a clear trend toward diversification of inbound demand. However, some markets, including Hong Kong (-14.8%), Vietnam (-7.9%), and Singapore (-4.3%), experienced declines compared to the previous year.
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Meanwhile, outbound tourism demand among Korean citizens is also steadily increasing. In January of this year, the number of Korean outbound tourists was 3,267,988, which is a 9.9% increase compared to the same month last year (2,972,916). This figure is 112.2% of the January 2019 level, indicating that outbound travel demand has also surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels.
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