SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – Foreign tourist arrivals in South Korea exceeded 2 million in July 2026 as inbound travel continued above pre-pandemic levels. The country received 2,093,223 foreign visitors during the month, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. That total rose 20.8% from 1,733,199 visitors in July 2025. It also reached 144.6% of the number recorded in July 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel.
The July total also marked a 48.6% increase from the 1,408,499 foreign visitors recorded in July 2024. The latest figures showed broad gains among South Korea’s major inbound tourism markets. China remained the largest source of foreign visitors during the month. Travelers from China accounted for about 777,000 arrivals, followed by visitors from Japan, Taiwan, the United States and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed about 330,000 visitors in July, while Taiwan accounted for approximately 261,000. Around 150,000 visitors came from the United States, and about 76,000 arrived from Hong Kong. Each of those five markets also exceeded its July 2019 level. Chinese arrivals increased 49.6% from July 2019, while Japanese arrivals rose 20.2%. Taiwan recorded the largest percentage increase among the group, rising 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Major Asian markets lead visitor growth
Arrivals from the United States increased 54.4% compared with July 2019, while Hong Kong arrivals rose 29.1%. The figures show that South Korea’s largest inbound tourism markets have moved above their comparable pre-pandemic levels. China remained the biggest contributor by a wide margin in July. Japan and Taiwan ranked second and third, while the United States remained the largest source market among the five from outside East Asia.
South Korea received 12,803,142 foreign visitors from January through July 2026. The seven-month total increased 21.3% compared with the same period in 2025. It also reached 129.5% of the January-to-July level recorded in 2019. China supplied about 3.99 million visitors during the period. Japan followed with 2.28 million, while Taiwan accounted for 1.41 million and the United States contributed about 960,000.
Seven-month arrivals reach 12.8 million
Hong Kong contributed about 420,000 visitors during the first seven months of 2026. The Korea Tourism Organization released the July tourism statistics on August 25. The figures cover inbound foreign visitors as well as South Korean travelers going overseas. July outbound travel by South Korean nationals reached 2,419,457 people. That represented a 0.7% decline from the same month in 2025, when outbound travel totaled 2,435,291.
From January through July, about 17.38 million South Koreans traveled abroad. That cumulative outbound total reached 98.5% of the comparable level recorded in 2019. The July data therefore showed different patterns for inbound and outbound travel. Foreign visitor numbers stood well above pre-pandemic levels, while outbound travel remained slightly below its 2019 benchmark. South Korea’s July inbound total also surpassed both its 2024 and 2025 figures by double-digit percentages.
