Travelers are returning to Korea this year

With regulations eased on foreigners entering Korea and short-term travel visas being issued for the first time in two years, the country’s popular tourist attractions, especially the shopping district in central Seoul’s Myeongdong, are beginning...

A group of Singaporean travelers pose for a picture at Gyeongbok Palace during their visit to Seoul on Dec. 28. They say their favorite part of the tour in Seoul was trying on hanbok (Korean traditional dress) and taking photographs around the royal palace. [PARK SANG-MOON]

With regulations eased on foreigners entering Korea and short-term travel visas being issued for the first time in two years, the country’s popular tourist attractions, especially the shopping district in central Seoul’s Myeongdong, are beginning to vibrate once again with tourists’ rolling suitcases.

“Where are all the K-beauty shops that used to dot the streets here?” asked Tracy Wu, a traveler from Hong Kong, who was visiting Myeongdong on Dec. 29. It was her first return to Seoul and her first overseas travel since the pandemic began. She says she’s visited Korea several times before the world was devastated by the virus to refill her makeup pouch with popular K-beauty items.

“I usually get my sheet masks here in Myeongdong because the shops used to sell them in large bundles for really cheap prices for travelers,” said Wu. “But when I asked people where can I get the masks that used to be sold here, they all directed me to a convenience store or a pharmacy where they sell K95 masks. I don’t think people are aware how much K-beauty shops dominated this area three years ago […] I heard Myeongdong was hit hard by Covid. Now that we are back, I hope the shops that cater to foreign travelers come back as well.”

Korea was indeed hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing was enforced to varying degrees, quarantine was mandatory and the economic downturn was inevitable. But during nearly three years of the pandemic, Korea has also experienced a cultural explosion as consumers around the globe turned to virtual spaces to seek solace in the arts.

Director Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite”(2019) earned four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards in February 2020 and K-pop boy band BTS continued to soar to new heights, rewriting the history of K-pop on countless occasions. Then there was “Squid Game” (2021), which became the most-watched Netflix content ever and actor Youn Yuh-jung received staggering attention for her role in the film “Minari” (2020), which also won a number of awards at the Oscars, including Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Youn.

All these factors led to Korea being marked as one of the top destinations for travelers to visit as soon as the pandemic allowed.

According to Airbnb on Nov. 30, Seoul was the fourth most searched for travel destination on the travel and booking app between the first and third quarters of 2022. It said that peaking interest in Korea is mostly due to the rise in popularity of Korean culture.

Onion Anguk says it has been seeing an increase in foreign travelers visiting its hanok (traditional Korean house) cafe in Anguk, central Seoul, since last May.

Foreigners from different countries swarm to Onion Aguk on Dec. 27, to experience Korea's cafe culture and its hanok (Korean traditional house). [PARK SANG-MOON]

“The number of foreign customers these days is higher than when we just opened in 2019. I think more than 70 percent of our sales at the moment comes from foreigners,” said Yu Zu-hyung, CEO of Onion. “From the opening hour until we close, you’ll witness a unique scene here at Onion Anguk. Foreigners from at least a dozen different countries sit around a traditional Korean hanok and drink coffee and try different pastries all day long. It’s so cosmopolitan. I think they are here to enjoy Korea’s popular cafe culture, try on Korean rubber shoes known as gomushin and experience hanok and take tons of photos.”

Ru Wang, who arrived in Seoul for the first time on Christmas Eve from New Zealand, was taking selfies with the hanok as her backdrop on Dec. 27. She said she waited for an hour to get a seat near the courtyard, known as jungjeong in Korean, in the cafe.

“I saw the cafe on Instagram and really wanted to experience hanok and the courtyard and all the delicious-looking pastries. Korean cafe culture is really hot right now,” said Wang. “I’m going to go around different cafes in Seoul, and then visit HYBE headquarters and Line and the Kakao Friends shops.”

Wang says she wants to visit other areas of Korea to discover more about Korea and its history when she comes back next time, “and definitely a second and third time.”

Asha Freeman, who was waiting for a seat on the same day, is from Atlanta, Georgia. She came to Korea last August to study at Hanyang University after falling in love with Korea and its culture in recent years. She was visiting the cafe to introduce Korea to her mother and sister who were visiting the country to see her for Christmas.

“I am so overwhelmed to be finally here,” said Freeman. “During my stay, I hope to travel around different areas of the country.” Myeongdong is no longer barren either. Kwon Sang-soo, director of Stanford Hotel Management in Korea said its Myeongdong branch that recently opened in the area is 98 percent full with travelers from all over the world.

“Around Christmas a year ago, we fretted over the lack of travelers around the area because we were preparing to open a new branch here,” he said. “But this winter, it’s a totally different scene. It’s like the old Myeongdong is back to its pre-Covid status. Since Japan opened up its borders, we’ve been seeing a lot of travelers from Japan recently. We should definitely prepare for the influx of Chinese tourists that may soon flood in.”

Travelers from Germany visit Gyeongbok Palace during their visit to Seoul on Dec. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Chinese national aren’t even included in the latest statistics but nonetheless, statistics on the number of foreigners visiting Korea have shown a steep increase. According to data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization, a total of 459,906 people visited Korea in November 2022, a 387.4 percent increase from the same month the year before. Those with American passports accounted for the most, with 64,861 visitors in November 2022, followed by Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

In an effort to bolster its economy and play catch-up with a world that has largely learned to live with Covid, the Korean government promulgated the years 2023 and 2024 as “Visit Korea Years.” Kim Jang-sil, the CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization said the government aims to attract 30 million foreign travelers to Korea by 2027.

“During Covid, I think foreigners’ interest in Korean culture went beyond K-pop and K-drama. They are curious to know about Korea’s history, its food, film, Korea’s classical musicians and so much more,” said Kim. “The government’s role is to develop interesting travel content through storytelling, because I believe Korea has a lot of stories to tell.” BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]