Source: Korea JoongAng Daily

What happened

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, citing the Korea Tourism Organization, about 10.71 million foreign tourists visited Korea in the first half of 2026, up more than 21% from the same period a year earlier. Foreign tourists spent 12.08 trillion won (about $8.5 billion) on credit cards in Korea from January through July — up 48.2% from 8.15 trillion won a year earlier. Spending rose faster than visitor counts.

Demand drivers named in the piece include K-content events such as BTS’s March performance at Gwanghwamun, plus major holiday windows in neighboring countries — Japan’s Golden Week and China’s Labor Day holiday in early May.

The breakdown

Department stores led the retail read-through. Shinsegae Department Store foreign customer sales hit 580 billion won in H1 2026, up 120% year on year; luxury sales rose 35%, fashion 10.1%, home goods 16.6%, food 13.7%. Shinsegae’s department-store gross sales reached 2.02 trillion won in Q2 (+15.5%), with operating profit 108.8 billion won (+53.5%). Hyundai Department Store net sales for its department-store business set a H1 record at 1.28 trillion won (+8.3%), operating profit 246 billion won (+47.7%). Foreign sales jumped 134% at The Hyundai Seoul and 131% at the Trade Center branch, with foreigners about 20% of sales at each. Lotte Shopping’s department-store division posted Q2 revenue of 891.2 billion won (+9.2%) and operating profit 119.7 billion won (+84%).

Spend is spreading beyond luxury into Korean fashion, beauty, and convenience. GS25 foreign-method sales rose 67.2% in Q2; CU and BGF Retail also cited tourist traffic in Q2 growth. The Hyundai Seoul’s foreign shopper map now spans roughly 180 countries, including UAE and Kazakhstan, beyond the earlier China / Japan / U.S. core.

Why it matters outside Korea

If you plan a Seoul shopping trip, stock a tourist-district store, or brief a brand entering Korea retail, the operational story is spend intensity, not only arrival counts. Card spend up nearly half while visitors rose about a fifth means baskets and category mix matter — and convenience / IP collabs are now part of the foreign path, not only Myeongdong luxury.

What travelers and expats should watch

• Do budget for department-store and CU/GS25 peaks in tourist corridors — foreign demand is showing up in everyday K-food and IP items, not only duty-free.
• Don’t assume every district mirrors Yeouido / Gangnam foreign-sales spikes; the sharpest percentages sit at named tourist-heavy branches.
• Expect thicker weekend queues around Myeongdong, Jamsil, and major department stores as retailers lean harder into foreign membership and affiliate marketing in H2.
• Carry a working card and a backup — the brief’s metric is credit-card spend, which is also how retailers are measuring you.

Context

Read this as a retail-absorption story, not a vague “K-wave vibes” travel blurb. Arrivals rose; card tickets rose faster; department stores and convenience chains are the named cash registers. Plan time and payment logistics around that, not around a fantasy of empty fitting rooms.

Source

Korea JoongAng Daily: Tourists flash the cash as spending tops 12 trillion won — paraphrased for briefing; originally Korean, bilingual reporter translation with generative AI tools, edited by a native English-speaking editor. Soft briefing only — not personalized shopping or investment advice.