{"id":44931,"date":"2026-04-16T16:19:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=44931"},"modified":"2026-04-16T16:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:19:48","slug":"bts-comeback-drives-record-2-06-million-tourists-to-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=44931","title":{"rendered":"BTS comeback drives record 2.06 million tourists to South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Korea<\/span> welcomed a record 2.06 million foreign visitors in March, led by Chinese arrivals, government data showed on Thursday, with tourism spending lifted \u200cby the comeback tour of K-pop supergroup BTS after a years-long hiatus.<\/div>\n
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the monthly record helped lift first-quarter arrivals by 23 per cent from a year ago to 4.76 million, also a record for a first quarter.<\/p>\n
It attributed the trend to the \u201cworldwide popularity of [Korean] culture\u201d, despite turmoil in the Middle East \u2060due to the Iran war<\/span>.<\/div>\n
Chinese visitors made up the biggest share of visitors at 1.45 million, up 29 per cent from a year earlier, followed by Japanese tourists at 940,915, up 20.2 per cent.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>Tourists walk past a cosmetics store at Myeongdong shopping district in Seoul on Friday. Photo: Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Foreign arrivals through regional airports \u200cjumped 49.7 per cent, while the share of travellers visiting areas outside Seoul and its vicinity \u2060rose to 34.5 per cent, \u2060from 31.3 per cent a year earlier, the ministry said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Tourists](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/04\/16\/983c8c79-2e89-4517-a070-ab36e4d620a7_44951029.jpg\" "\\"Tourists")
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