Tourist complaints in Korea hit record high amid travel boom
Summary
Tourist complaints in Korea have hit a record high this year, with problems ranging from reckless taxi driving to overcharging at shopping malls. The Korea Tourism Organization said 1,753 complaints were filed nationwide from January to July, surpassing last year’s 1,744. Seoul had the most complaints, while Busan saw a sharp rise after BTS world tour concerts drew large crowds. Experts said Korea needs stronger tourism service measures as foreign visitor numbers keep rising.
Key Facts
- The Korea Tourism Organization said 1,753 complaints were filed nationwide between January and July this year.
- Last year, foreign visitor complaints totaled 1,744, and the number has risen steadily since 2023 after falling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Seoul recorded 665 complaints, followed by Busan with 594, Incheon with 176 and Jeju with 155.
- Complaints about accommodations were the most common, with 500 cases involving one-sided reservation cancellations and excessive cancellation fees.
- Foreign visitors made up 84.3 percent of all complaints, and Chinese nationals filed the largest number at 680.
Tourists enter Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Tourist complaints in Korea have hit a record high this year, data showed Sunday, with problems ranging from reckless taxi driving to overcharging at shopping malls.
A total of 1,753 complaints were filed nationwide between January and July this year, already surpassing the 1,744 cases reported last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
The growing number of complaints has raised calls for Korea to come up with measures to improve tourism services, particularly as foreign visitors have complained of excessive accommodation cancellation fees and other issues during major events, such as K-pop supergroup BTS' concerts.
According to the data, the total number of complaints from foreign visitors fell during the COVID-19 pandemic but has risen steadily since 2023 and reached 1,744 last year, with the figure for this year already surpassing the annual total of 2025 in just seven months.
By region, Seoul recorded the most complaints at 665, followed by the southeastern city of Busan with 594, Incheon with 176 and the southern resort island of Jeju with 155.
Busan, which attracted some 110,000 visitors for BTS' world tour concerts in June, saw complaints more than double from 239 cases reported for all of last year.
Tourists complained most frequently about accommodations, with 500 cases involving one-sided reservation cancellations and excessive cancellation fees.
Unfriendly service and overcharging at stores came next with 376 cases, followed by poor airport and airline services with 186 cases and another 182 cases complaining of taxi drivers refusing to use meters or driving recklessly.
Foreign visitors accounted for 84.3 percent of all complaints, with Chinese nationals filing the largest number of complaints at 680, followed by Japanese at 263 and Taiwanese at 182.
Experts have called for efforts from both the government and the private sector to improve tourist satisfaction to keep the tourism boom going, as this year marked the first time the country's foreign visitor count surpassed 10 million before the end of the first half.
"As the number of tourists has grown and the tourism industry has expanded, complaints and other negative indicators have also increased," Yoon Ji-hwan, a tourism professor at Kyung Hee University, said.
Yoon also warned that negative experiences shared on social media could quickly spread and hurt the tourism industry.
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