Tourism around the world is booming this year, building on several years of recovery from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seoul, of course, is no exception, as any walk through Myeong-dong reveals. Empty two years ago, the area is now full of international tourists and shops are doing a booming business.
Other areas of Seoul, such as Bukchon, Hongdae and Seongsu-dong are full of international tourists. Myeong-dong’s recovery and the ongoing tourist boom are part of a long-term trend. After growing slowly in the first decade of the 21st century, the number of international tourists in Seoul has skyrocketed since the early 2010s.
In 2000, 5.3 million international tourists came to South Korea, and in 2010 that number grew to 7.8 million.
It soared to 13.2 million in 2015, and to 17.5 million in 2019, just before the pandemic.
The majority of international tourists who enter South Korea spend most of their time in Seoul. While not all of them came to Seoul exclusively for tourism, tourists account for a large percentage of visitors to the city. According to a recent report by Euromonitor International, a London-based marketing research firm, Seoul ranked 14th among the top 100 cities for international tourists in 2023.
The number one spot went to Paris. The boom in international tourism has gradually transformed the cityscape of Seoul in the 2010s. The most obvious change is the increase in hotels.
Until the 2010s, the number of tourists increased slowly, and few new.