Drawn by BTS and K-drama, Chinese tourists return to S Korea in droves after years of upset

South Korean boy band BTS makes so little secret of its trips to Jeju, a resort island in their homeland, that travel agencies know just what spots the seven superstars have visited.

That makes it easy to organise tours for Chinese fans to take photos, with a hotel and a Buddhist temple some of the stops on the itinerary.

It is the same for Chinese viewers of the Korean television series Welcome to Samdal-ri, which was filmed on the volcanic island.

The number of Chinese tourists making the trip to Jeju has expanded every month from January to April this year, with the combined total for the four months more than all of 2023, according to the Jeju Tourism Organisation.

Travel to South Korea from China is booming again following the removal of barriers on both sides and the lure of cheap flights to a popular nearby country.

As of the first quarter, Chinese visitors had made more than 1 million trips to South Korea, more than from any other country, according to China’s state-backed Xinhua News Agency.

South Korea had already become the second most popular foreign market for Chinese tourists last year, after Japan, travel analytics firm ForwardKeys said.

Chinese travellers, mindful of economic uncertainty at home, can reach South Korea in a few hours on relatively cheap flights, said Gary Bowerman, director of the tourism marketing firm Check-in Asia.

Round-trip flights to Seoul, from Beijing or Shanghai, stood at around US$180 as of mid-June.

Chinese tourists in South Korea typically visit preserved historic sites in Seoul, while monuments to K-pop and Korean dramas are popular on Chinese video platforms.

Many tourists frequent urban zones with shops, entertainment and dining – all near their hotels – said Wendy Jiao, a