Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, west of Seoul, is packed with people, in this July 2, 2023, file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of foreign visitors to South Korea soared more than four times in June from a year earlier to hit a new monthly high since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, data showed Friday.
In June, around 961,000 foreign nationals came to Korea, up 321.9 percent on-year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
The number is the largest monthly figure since the COVID-19 pandemic began and represents 65 percent of the corresponding figure posted in June 2019.
In the first half, around 4.4 million foreign travelers visited the country, accounting for 52.5 percent of the pre-pandemic level.
By country, 197,000 Japanese people visited South Korea last month, up 3,256 percent from a year ago.
Some 168,000 came from China, up 1,219 percent, and 121,000 came from the United States, up 119 percent.
The number of Taiwanese visitors shot up nearly 10,000 percent on-year to 97,000.
The number of inbound travelers from Europe and the Americas recovered to 95 percent of the pre-pandemic level, the KTO added.
Meanwhile, 9.9 million South Koreans traveled abroad last month, up 66 percent from a year earlier.
(Yonhap)
