Tourist complaints in S. Korea hit record high amid travel boom

Seoul, South Korea - Complaints lodged by tourists in South Korea reached a record high this year, data revealed on September 6, according to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). From January to July this year, 1,753 complaints were filed, surpassing the 1,744 cases reported last year. The surge in grievances has prompted calls for measures to enhance tourism services, particularly as foreign visitors have expressed dissatisfaction with issues like excessive cancellation fees for accommodations during major events such as K-pop concerts.

The majority of complaints, 84.3%, were filed by foreign visitors, with Chinese nationals leading the pack at 680 complaints, followed by Japanese at 263 and Taiwanese at 182. In terms of location, Seoul topped the list with 665 complaints, closely followed by Busan with 594, Incheon with 176, and Jeju Island with 155. Busan, which hosted BTS concerts in June, saw complaints more than double from 239 cases in 2023 to 594 in 2025.

Hot topics among the complaints included accommodation issues, accounting for 500 cases, where cancellations and fees were problematic. Unfriendly service and overcharging at stores were cited in 376 cases, while poor airport and airline services were reported in 186 cases. Taxi drivers refusing to use meters or driving recklessly were the subject of 182 complaints.

Experts suggest that both the government and private sector need to step up efforts to boost tourist satisfaction to maintain the tourism boom, which saw the country's foreign visitor count surpass 10 million before the end of the first half of the year. Tourism professor Yoon Ji-hwan from Kyung Hee University warned that negative experiences shared on social media could spread rapidly and harm the tourism industry.