18.94 million. That was the number of foreigners who visited Korea last year, the highest on record. As the number of inbound visitors has surged, the retail sector is moving faster to target them. The three leading brands known as the so-called "Ol-Da-Mu" stores (Olive Young, Daiso, and Musinsa) have emerged as rising powers in retail. As the so-called "Ol-Da-Mu" stores (Olive Young, Daiso, and Musinsa) expand their businesses amid foreign interest and continue their growth, the range of signature Korean consumer items is gradually diversifying. This newspaper examines the characteristics and expansion trend of spaces newly added to foreigners' consumption routes and looks at channels being discussed as the next so-called "Ol-Da-Mu" stores (Olive Young, Daiso, and Musinsa). [Editor's note]
Spending by inbound foreign tourists is spreading beyond Seoul to resorts and outlets in the outskirts and provinces. As tour products for foreigners that combine nature, ski resorts, and local attractions diversify beyond central Seoul shopping and downtown sightseeing, their consumption routes are gradually widening.
According to global travel platform Klook on Apr. 6, traffic for tourism products outside Seoul from Jan. 1 to on the 29th of last month increased sharply from a year earlier. By region, South Chungcheong Province rose 210.6%, and Gyeongju (124.9%) and North Chungcheong Province (106.5%) also posted double-digit growth rates. Major destinations such as Jeju (70.4%), Pohang (57.3%), and Busan (39.0%) also showed steady growth.
◇ Foreigners dispersing from Seoul to the provinces
Demand from inbound foreigners that had recently been concentrated in Seoul is gradually dispersing to the outskirts and provinces. While Seoul remains the hub of Korean tourism, growing demand for repeat visits and longer stays appears to be expanding experience-based tour spending beyond shopping and city sightseeing.
In particular, during winter, steady demand for tours bundling snowy scenery and ski lessons is drawing more foreigners to resorts outside Seoul. Traffic for domestic ski tour products from Feb. last year to Feb. this year increased 12.8% from a year earlier.
Previously, ski resorts near Seoul dominated, but lately a greater share is heading to farther ski areas such as Gangwon Province with more flexible itineraries. Over the same period, traffic for ski tour products in Gangwon Province rose 24.7%.
A similar trend is evident on the ground. According to Kangwon Land, about 43,000 foreign tourists visited Jeongseon High1 Resort during the 2025–2026 winter season, up 54% from a year earlier. As ski tours have taken off, unique programs linking K-food experiences and tours of former mining areas drew the attention of foreign tourists.
Kangwon Land is expanding services and accelerating new product development to attract more foreign tourists. Centered on the High1 ski resort, it created a foreigners-only "one-stop service lounge," and diversified foreign customer inflow channels by attracting group tourists in connection with Yangyang International Airport. This year, it plans to launch a one-night, two-day package connecting High1 Resort with nearby areas such as Danyang in North Chungcheong Province.
However, some resorts saw only limited growth in foreign visitors. Analysts say heavy reliance on intermediary sites creates a gap between actual demand and the data. Sono Hotels & Resorts kept the share of foreign users outside the greater Seoul area at a level similar to a year earlier, and Lotte Resort saw only about a 10 percentage-point increase.
Looking at products for foreigners sold by domestic and overseas travel platforms recently, tours to the outskirts and provinces are steadily expanding. Many products depart from Seoul and bundle nature or local attractions such as Nami Island in Gapyeong, Seoraksan Mountain, Naksansa in Yangyang, Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, and Sanjeong Lake in Pocheon. Some have logged more than 10,000 bookings. With spring, products tied to local festivals such as the Jinhae Gunhangje are also increasing.
From January to March this year, most products with the highest traffic growth rates on Klook were tours linking suburbs and provincial cities to a Seoul base. The Paju DMZ tour rose 3,436.1% from a year earlier, followed by the Busan day tour (2,637.9%) and a combined package of Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, the Korean Folk Village, and Starfield (1,201.5%).
◇ Foreigners flocking to suburban outlets
An increase in foreign visitors is also evident in retail channels such as suburban outlets. A Yeoju Premium Outlets one-day tour package that Shinsegae Simon launched last year in partnership with travel platforms has expanded from twice a week to three times a week this year. As of last month, the number of users of the product increased about tenfold compared with the first month of operation (April 2025).
A Shinsegae Simon official said, "As so-called 'nth-time tourists' who have sufficiently experienced the city expand their travel routes to the suburbs, outlet visits are also increasing," and added, "Outlets, too, are establishing themselves as complex tourist destinations where people can not only shop for goods but also enjoy brand events, tax refunds, meals, and experiences."
The revisit rate of foreign tourists coming to Korea is on the rise. In a survey conducted in Feb. by Creatrip, a domestic inbound tourism platform, of 100 foreign tourists, 79% said they would revisit Korea within the next year. About half were found to actually visit Korea about once a year.
The share of repeat tourists who visited Korea at least three times in the past three years was tallied at 45%. As the number of visits increases, travel tends to spread beyond Seoul to the provinces. Busan topped the list of desired revisit destinations (70%), followed by Jeju, Jeonju, Gyeongju, and Yeosu.