Taiwanese tourists make up largest number of foreign visitors to Busan, favor iconic pork soup

Visitors cool off while watching a drone show at Gwangalli Beach in Busan, Sunday. (Yonhap)

Taiwanese have emerged as the largest group of foreign visitors to Busan, with a strong preference for the city’s iconic pork soup, dwaeji gukbap, according to recent data released by the Busan Tourism Organization.

A survey of 15,796 Taiwanese visitors revealed that 66.9 percent ranked the pork soup as their favorite local dish, followed by Busan fish cakes (37.4 percent), seed-stuffed hotteok pancakes (22.4 percent) and grilled eel (19.4 percent). Multiple responses were allowed.

From January to May, approximately 249,000 Taiwanese tourists visited Busan, making Taiwan the top country of origin among foreign arrivals to South Korea's second-biggest city.

The Busan tourism sector expects Taiwanese visitor numbers to continue climbing in the second half of the year. Carriers such as Air Busan and Eva Air are launching or expanding direct flights between Taiwan's capital Taipei and Busan during the Chuseok holiday season, while Jeju Air is adding a new route from Kaohsiung to Busan.

Taiwanese tourists are also helping decentralize Korea’s tourism economy. Unlike many international travelers who enter through Incheon, 24.6 percent of Taiwanese visitors arrived via Gimhae International Airport, near Busan, compared to the overall average of less than 10 percent for regional airports.

“The fact that many Taiwanese visit Korea multiple times a year offers us a great opportunity to promote regional destinations,” said an official from the Korea Tourism Organization. "We are actively partnering with 11 Taiwanese travel agencies to develop and market group travel packages to seven regions, including Busan, Daegu and South Gyeongsang Province."