Korea moves to diversify inbound tourism beyond Seoul
Overseas tourists wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing, pose for a photo at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, April 16. Yonhap
The government is accelerating its efforts to reshape the country's tourism landscape, moving away from a long-standing administrative approach that has concentrated foreign visitor flows in the capital region.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday it is holding a series of regional consultations this week. The meetings aim to lay the groundwork for a new tourism framework built around eight broad clusters, spanning five major hubs and three special autonomous regions across the country.
The initiative comes as Korea grapples with a persistent structural imbalance, with more than 80 percent of foreign visitors never traveling beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. With the government targeting 23 million inbound tourists this year and 30 million by 2029, officials say the growth potential of a Seoul-centric model is reaching its limit.
"Tourists do not travel along administrative boundaries," said Kang Jung-won, head of the tourism policy bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "That is precisely why we must expand beyond the single administrative unit model and think in terms of much larger tourism zones."
The new framework groups the country into five regional poles: the Seoul metropolitan area, the southeastern Dongnam region anchoring Busan, the Daegyeong zone around Daegu, the central Jungbu belt and the southwestern Seonam corridor. These are joined by Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla special autonomous provinces.
The core concept is to create "tourism zones" based on how travelers actually move, rather than following fixed provincial borders.
Under this model, a main gateway city serves as a starting point connected to nearby attractions, forming a broader travel route that encourages visitors to stay longer in regional areas.
The push aligns with a broader government drive led by President Lee Jae Myung. "If we are satisfied with the reality that 80 percent of foreign tourists are concentrated in Seoul, the growth of the tourism industry is bound to hit a ceiling," Lee said during a national tourism strategy meeting in February.
The momentum is already building. Korea welcomed a record 4.76 million foreign visitors in the first quarter of this year, up 23 percent from a year earlier, according to the ministry. March alone set a monthly record of around 2.06 million arrivals.
Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young often cites Japan as a benchmark, saying that while both countries had similar inbound figures a decade ago, Japan managed to pull ahead by successfully promoting various cities beyond its capital.
Kang added that the ministry will review every step of a traveler's trip, ranging from arrival and transportation to lodging and local activities, from a regional perspective. The ministry plans to collect opinions from local tourism officials and experts to finalize the new framework.