TOKYO (Yonhap) -- More foreigners visited South Korea than Japan in the first four months of this year as travelers appeared to have avoided the quake-stricken neighboring country, data showed Wednesday.

According to the data by justice ministries of both countries, the number of foreigners who entered and left South Korea in the January-April period came to 5.42 million, surpassing that of Japan, which was recorded at 4.99 million.

The number of foreigners going in and out of Japan totaled 1.59 million and 1.54 million in January and February, respectively. But it fell to 1.13 million in March and 720,837 in April following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The comparative figures for South Korea formed a contrast to the Japanese situation. The number of foreign visitors to South Korea has been on an uptrend since March, when it stood at 1.47 million, and came in at 1.44 million the following month.