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Korea moves target year for 30 million inbound tourists from 2030 to 2028

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 16:54 Updated: 02 Feb. 2026, 17:13

JIN EUN-SOO
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Tourists pose for a photo at the ″KPop Demon Hunters″ (2025) pop-up store in Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi, in December 2025. [NEWS1]

Korea moved up its target year for achieving 30 million inbound tourists from 2030 to 2028 — on the back of a surge in interest in K-culture.

Last year, Korea saw 18.7 million inbound tourists.

“The latest K-content boom, the weak won and the expected flow of Japanese tourists due to tension between Japan and China will likely bolster tourism,” said Park Sung-hyeuck, the newly appointed CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization, during a press conference on Monday.

“We will shift the target year for achieving 30 million inbound tourists from 2030 to 2028, which means the number of tourists to Korea will have to grow by 16 percent each year until 2028.”

Park expects 22 million tourists to arrive in 2026, a 17.6 percent jump from the previous year.

The state-backed Korea Tourism Organization plans to achieve its goal by localizing its marketing strategy for each target country. For China and Japan, Korea’s primary markets, the agency will focus on boosting demand among repeat visitors. For Southeast Asia and the Middle East, it will link products to Korean pop culture.

Korea Tourism Organziation CEO Park Sung-hyeuck speaks to the press in central Seoul on Feb. 2. [KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

Besides attracting tourists, the organization's next mission is to have them stay longer.

It said it plans to offer a variety of relevant sightseeing spots, local cuisine and other attractions on the belief that the demands of Koreans traveling within Korea align with those of foreign tourists — unlike in the past, when it was widely assumed that the two groups' preferences largely differed.

The agency also plans to strengthen its data analysis capabilities with AI and consolidate 13 of its tourism-related websites into a single platform, “Visit Korea,” by next year.

“The boom in K-culture is unprecedented [...] and we do not know if this boom will last,” the CEO said. “Using that momentum, we will try to seize this opportunity.”

Park, who was appointed to the post in December 2025, is considered an expert in global marketing, as he served as an executive at Cheil Worldwide and oversaw its operations in North America and Europe.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]