{
  "id": 15989129,
  "title": "Foreign visitors to Korea top 17.1 mil. through September, nearing 2025 full-year level",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/foreign-visitors-to-korea-top-17-1-mil-through-september-nearing-2025-15989129",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T02:57:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/travel-food/20261022/foreign-visitors-to-korea-top-171-mil-through-september-closing-in-on-2025-level"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korea welcomed an impressive 17.11 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of 2024, a significant 21.5% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the government. This surge puts the nation on track to surpass its full-year 2025 visitor count by October. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported that September alone saw 2.06 million foreign tourists, a 21.1% rise from 2023, maintaining monthly arrivals above the 2 million mark. The total for January through September compares to 14.08 million visitors a year ago, and 18.94 million for the entire 2025.\n\nChina remained the top source market, sending 5.47 million visitors, a notable 29.2% increase. Japan followed with 3.12 million visitors, up 16.9%, while Taiwan recorded 1.86 million tourists, a 32.4% jump. Arrivals from the Americas grew by 12% to 1.62 million, and those from Europe climbed by 20% to 1.19 million. More importantly, foreigners' card spending in tourism-related sectors, including online purchases, reached an astounding 15.94 trillion won ($12 billion) through September, a staggering 47.7% increase from 10.79 trillion won in the same period last year.",
  "summary": "Korea welcomed 17.11 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of this year, marking a 21.5 percent increase from the same period in 2025 and puts the country on track to pass last year's full-year total by October, the government said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2.06 million foreign tourists arrived in September alone, up 21.1 percent from a year…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Foreign visitors to Korea top 17.1 mil. through September, nearing 2025 full-year level",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/foreign-visitors-to-korea-top-17-1-mil-through-september-nearing-2025",
        "published": "2026-10-22T02:12:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Foreign tourist arrivals in S. Korea on track to exceed last year's total",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/foreign-tourist-arrivals-in-s-korea-on-track-to-exceed-last-years",
        "published": "2026-10-22T02:12:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}