On September 28, the Korea Tourism Organization announced that South Korea welcomed 1.56 million foreign tourists in August, a significant 43.5% increase year-over-year and reaching 99% of the pre-pandemic level observed in August 2019.
By country, the highest number of tourists came from mainland China, with 506,000 visitors. Japan followed with 323,000 visitors, Taiwan with 149,000, and the United States with 102,000 visitors.
From January to August this year, South Korea hosted a total of 10.67 million foreign tourists, up 62.9% compared to the same period last year. This number equals 93% of the tourist volume recorded in the first eight months of 2019. Visitor rankings by country during this period were led by mainland China (3.18 million), Japan (2 million), Taiwan (980,000), and the United States (860,000).
