SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign visitors to South Korea are increasingly favoring “value-for-money” shopping aligned with personal tastes, signaling a shift away from the high-end, big-ticket purchases that once dominated tourist consumption, according to new data released by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). An analysis of foreign credit card transactions from 2018 through September [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The government on Monday unveiled a series of measures aimed at boosting the nation’s tourism sector amid signs of a robust recovery in the post-pandemic era. The measures, announced during a meeting of economic affairs ministers, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, focus on streamlining entry procedures [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent analysis has revealed that more than one-third of the foreign tourists visiting South Korea last year were young individuals under the age of 30, a demographic surge attributed to the global popularity of K-pop, K-food, and K-beauty. The trend is not limited to Asian countries such as Japan, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – KakaoPay, South Korea’s popular payment platform, has witnessed an astonishing 14-fold increase in transactions made by foreign tourists within a year. This surge is attributed to the rise in international visitors in the post-COVID era and the expansion of KakaoPay-affiliated merchants linked to foreign fintech (payment) services. According to the [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Justice said Thursday it will extend the validity period of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA), the online travel permit system for foreign tourists. Currently set at two years, the validity period will be extended to three years, effective from Monday. However, teenagers and elderly individuals [...]
GYEONGJU, June 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Gyeongju, a region steeped in the richness of its ancient heritage, stands as a veritable trove of cultural relics. For close to a millennium, from its inception in 57 B.C. until the reign of Goryeo Dynasty founder Wang Geon in 935, Gyeongju served as the venerable capital of the [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The ever-increasing popularity of Korean dramas has turned the coast city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province into a tourist hotspot. The Jumunjin district in Gangneung, the filming location of the 2016 drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” also known as “Goblin,” has once again gained popularity as the backdrop [...]
JEJU, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — An all-time high of 13.59 million South Koreans visited the southern resort island of Jeju this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jeju Tourism Association said Monday. A total of 13.68 million people from home and abroad visited Jeju between Jan. 1 and Dec. 25, up about 16 percent [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid an increase in the number of tourists visiting various attractions for viewing the autumn leaves, ticket scalping is thriving at famous forests with admission fees. After buying admission tickets in advance, ticket scalpers are selling them at a higher price to visitors. The number of visitors to Hwadam [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of foreign travelers to South Korea in June tripled compared to the previous year, thanks to more lenient quarantine restrictions. The Korea Tourism Organization reported that 227,713 foreigners visited South Korea in June, up by 195.6 percent from the previous year. Sorted by nationality, 55,444 tourists were [...]