Koreans Spend Three Times More in Japan Than Japanese in Korea, Tourism Deficit Hits Record
Creatrip Team
a month ago
South Korea’s travel deficit with Japan reached a record $5.754 billion in 2025 as Koreans’ spending in Japan surged while Japanese spending in Korea remained much lower. Travel receipts from Japanese visitors to Korea totaled $2.737 billion, but Koreans’ outbound payments to Japan were $8.427 billion (about 4 trillion KRW vs. 13 trillion KRW at the April 22 exchange rate). The deficit has widened since the pandemic: after brief surpluses in 2020–2021, Japan turned a deficit in 2022 and the gap expanded through 2025. Factors driving the imbalance include a weak yen (yen weakness) and restored flight routes after COVID-19, which helped Korean visits to Japan reach a record 9.46 million people in 2025 (up 7.3% from 2024 and 69.4% from 2019). In contrast, only 3.65 million Japanese visited Korea last year. By comparison, South Korea ran smaller deficits with the U.S. and Southeast Asia and enjoyed surpluses with China and parts of Latin America.
