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Foreign residents emerge as Korea’s unexpected tourism ambassadors

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By Lee Kyung-min
  • Published KST
  • Updated KST
Foreign tourists pose for a group photo at Gyeongbok Palace in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Foreign tourists pose for a group photo at Gyeongbok Palace in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Foreign residents living in Korea are rapidly becoming a powerful new force in the country’s tourism economy, with many traveling frequently across the nation and encouraging friends and relatives abroad to visit.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday that a new survey of foreign residents found that nearly 7 in 10 respondents had taken domestic day trips over the past year, while nearly 6 in 10 had traveled overnight.

The report comes as Korea’s foreign resident population reaches 2.58 million, roughly 5 percent of the country’s total population, prompting tourism officials to view expatriates, international students and migrant workers as a growing tourism market rather than simply long-term residents.

The survey of 1,000 foreign residents showed that respondents averaged 3.7 day trips and two overnight trips annually between November 2024 and October 2025.

Nature and food ranked among the most popular activities. About 85.7 percent said they enjoyed sightseeing focused on scenery and landscapes, while 64.2 percent said food tourism was a major attraction.

The report also found that 93.8 percent preferred independent travel over group tours, highlighting a strong tendency toward self-directed travel.

Average travel spending reached 266,000 won ($181) per person, suggesting foreign residents are making a meaningful contribution to domestic consumption, officials said.

Travel patterns varied by visa status. Professional workers recorded the highest overnight travel rate at 74 percent, while international students posted the highest rate of day-trip travel at 79.1 percent.

Some 66.3 percent of respondents said they intended to invite friends or relatives from their home countries to visit Korea.

Kim Sung-eun, head of the Tourism AI (artificial intelligence) Data Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, said foreign residents were both a major domestic travel demographic and “ambassadors” promoting Korea globally.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.