The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea topped the 400,000 threshold in March for the first time since February last year, rebounding from a sharp fall following a 2017 diplomatic row between the two countries over the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea, government data showed Tuesday.
The Justice Ministry said the number of Chinese people visiting South Korea gained 16.5 percent from a month earlier to 427,628 in March. Compared with the corresponding number a year earlier, it showed 13-percent growth.
The recovery of Chinese arrivals to the 400,000 level per month was seen for the first time since relations between South Korea and China were strained following the Seoul-Washington agreement in 2016 to install the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system.
The reversal of a declining trend in the number of Chinese visitors came after South Korea and China agreed in late October to normalize bilateral relations after the dispute over Seoul's decision to deploy THAAD. Beijing had banned its travel agencies from selling group tours to its citizens in protest at the deployment, which began in April, dealing a blow to tourism-related industries in South Korea. (Yonhap)