Overview

• Seoul logged 1.36 million overseas visitors in July 2025, up 23.1% from July 2024 and 18.2% above July 2019.
• Arrivals reached 8.28 million for January through July, a 15.9% year-on-year increase and the highest total ever for that span.
• Chinese tourists led July arrivals with about 470,000 visitors, or nearly 35% of the total, followed by travelers from Japan, Taiwan and the United States.
• The city cites the global popularity of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters alongside safe, digital-friendly infrastructure and Seoul’s blend of tradition with modernity as key drivers.
• Compared with the same period in 2019, gains were strongest from Singapore (+64.4%), Taiwan (+44.0%), the United States (+40.6%) and Indonesia (+34.3%), as officials pursue a 30 million foreign-visitor goal.