South Korea’s Tourism Ministry Executive Seeks to Expand ROK-Japan Exchanges; Visitor Numbers Set New Record

By Junichi Toyoura Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

10:23 JST, May 3, 2025

Jang Mi-ran, South Korea’s second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, expressed her eagerness to expand tourism exchanges with Japan during a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Tokyo.

“Tourism exchanges between the two nations have steadily expanded even amid various crises,” said Jang on April 9, referring to the past 60 years. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.

Jang, a former Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, was in Japan to attend a tourism promotion event.

Last year, the number of people traveling between the two countries surpassed 12 million, setting a new record. This figure is 500 times bigger than in 1965, the year diplomatic ties were normalized, when the number was about 22,000.

Traveler numbers have been strong during the first three months of this year, raising expectations that numbers will break records again.

The expansion of air routes, including ones that connected regional areas, has increased tourism exchanges between the two countries. A route between Narita and Jeju opened last July, and as of April this year, 29 airports in Japan have connections to six airports in South Korea.

Jang described the 60 years of tourism exchange as having “steadily expanded without interruption despite various crises.” Diplomatic friction and natural disasters have in the past caused sharp drops in tourist numbers between the two nations.

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the Takeshima Islands in 2012 left an impact on tourism that lasted for over three years. However, the subsequent recovery in visitor numbers since then illustrates how South Korea and Japan have overcome crises each time relations have soured. “I believe this is due to the trust built through long years of exchange,” said Jang.

Jang added that the exchange between the two countries is being led by the future generation, saying that about half of the visitors from Japan who visited South Korea last year were in their 20s and 30s. Young people also make up a large proportion of South Koreans visiting Japan.

The South Korean government is devising plans to encourage youth exchanges, seeking to promote activities such as school trips, exchange programs and K-pop dance classes.

Due in part to the weak yen, the number of Japanese visitors to South Korea last year was about 3.22 million, about one-third of the about 8.82 million South Koreans visiting Japan.

Out of Japanese visitors to South Korea, half are repeat visitors who have visited the country four or more times. They tend to spend less and stay for shorter periods. About 80% of them stay in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Jang noted the challenge, saying, “We have not sufficiently conveyed the diversity and depth of Korean tourism.”