{
  "id": 19617036,
  "title": "Korea welcomes record 20 mil. foreign visitors as K-culture fuels tourism boom",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/korea-welcomes-record-20-mil-foreign-visitors-as-k-culture-fuels-19617036",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T07:22:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/people-events/20261112/korea-welcomes-record-20-mil-foreign-visitors-as-k-culture-fuels-tourism-boom"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Korea has achieved a significant milestone by welcoming over 20 million foreign tourists in a single year, marking a tourism boom fueled by the country's growing global appeal. This record was set just 14 years after Korea first recorded 10 million annual visitors in 2012, signaling a substantial growth in the country's tourism industry. The surge in international visitors has not only boosted spending on tourism-related activities, with foreign tourists spending 15.9 trillion won through September, a 47.7 percent increase from the same period last year, but also led to an increase in arrivals through regional gateways, extending the economic benefits of tourism beyond the capital.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}