A visiting father and son catch waves together at Yangyang's iconic Jukdo Beach in Gangwon Province, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korea drew 10.71 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2026, stemming from sustained growth from the Americas, Europe and Oceania as evidence that the country's tourism market is diversifying beyond its traditional base in Asia, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday.
Visitors from the Americas reached 1.08 million through June, up 12.7 percent from the same period last year, while arrivals from Europe rose 20.2 percent to 740,000, according to the ministry. Other markets, including Oceania, grew 11 percent to 210,000.
Among individual countries, visits from the United States rose 11.1 percent to 730,000, while Canada grew 17.1 percent, Brazil 22.1 percent and Mexico 16.3 percent.
In Europe, Britain and Germany each surpassed 100,000 visitors, growing 22.1 percent and 15.4 percent respectively, while France and Italy grew 17.2 percent and 29 percent. Even Russia saw a modest increase despite the absence of direct flights, a casualty of the war in Ukraine.
