Checkout lines stretched out until just before closing time. Customers carried large bags stuffed with cosmetics. This was the scene at the Olive Young flagship store in Myeongdong. Chinese tourists, whose visits had dried up, are now driving this "consumption carnival." Previously, their purpose was sightseeing. Recently, their purpose has been shopping and beauty. They visit beauty shops or receive treatments at dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. They are treating Korea as a destination for "shopping and beauty expeditions."
The shift in their purpose for visiting Korea stems partly from the influence of K-beauty, but the weak won trend also accounts for a large part. According to exchange rate data, one yuan averaged about 226 won in June. That is up from 209 won in January. In effect, the purchasing power of Chinese consumers in Korea has grown.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), about 1.95 million foreigners visited Korea last May. Of these, 563,000 were Chinese. That is up 16.2% from 484,390 a year earlier. Foreign card spending in May exceeded 2 trillion won for the first time ever. It reached 2.12 trillion won, a 67.1% increase from a year earlier. Chinese card spending in particular surged 214%. The KTO said Chinese visitors led ultra-high-end shopping, boosting sales of watches, jewelry and luxury goods.
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According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Chelsea Wang, who visited Seoul with two friends in late April, rarely visited palaces or tourist sites. She spent most of her four-day, three-night trip at duty-free shopping, beauty treatments, hair salons and cosmetics stores. Wang came targeting a backpack and perfume that were at least 500 yuan (about 110,000 won) cheaper than in China.
Wu, a 28-year-old office worker preparing for her wedding, planned even bigger shopping. She bought a Chaumet wedding ring at the Lotte Duty Free in Myeongdong for about 37,000 yuan (about 8.34 million won). The price factored in discounts, tax refunds and the exchange rate. It was about 11,000 yuan (about 2.5 million won) cheaper than in China. "It was really a good deal," Wu told the SCMP.
The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said in its June tourism outlook that the weak won boosted price competitiveness and visitors' purchasing power. It explained that the exchange rate effect, combined with expanded flights and the popularity of K-content, supported inbound tourism. The KTO also analyzed that spending has moved beyond traditional duty-free shopping to "lifestyle consumption." This refers to consumption that experiences everyday life in Korea, extending to beauty treatments, pharmacies, fashion and local retail.
Grace Koo, 32, who works in Shanghai's media industry, also visited Seoul with her older sister in late May. She had originally planned a family trip to Japan but switched to Korea. Naturally, shopping and beauty became the center of her itinerary. Koo said "the exchange rate was one factor." She added, "Once you realize the won is cheap, you naturally start looking for products and comparing prices," and "the value is so good that it makes you want to buy more."
Koo stayed for five days, spending one day shopping and another receiving beauty treatments and a haircut in Gangnam. She spent more than 10,000 yuan (about 2.25 million won) in total on flights, hotels, dining, shopping and beauty. The checkout line at Olive Young mentioned earlier was a scene Koo witnessed. She said, "I could really feel this consumption carnival."
Is China's Tourism Recovery Real? An Incomplete Rebound Seen Through the Travel Balance
The retail industry is also picking up on the trend. CJ Olive Young said foreign repeat visits have more than doubled every year since 2023. During last year's discount promotion period alone, 6,200 foreigners shopped at Olive Young three or more times.
However, economists argue that the tourism boom cannot be explained by the exchange rate factor alone. Park Seok-gil, chief Korea economist at JPMorgan, said the weak won contributed "to some extent" to the recovery, but that its macroeconomic impact should not be overestimated. He explained that inbound tourism and card spending are part of a gradual recovery following the pandemic. He added that non-economic factors, such as the popularity of K-culture and K-beauty, are also shaping foreigners' preferences. "It is clearly increasing, but not strong enough to change the overall macro picture," he said.
Bank of Korea data cited by JPMorgan also suggests the recovery is incomplete. Korea's travel balance surplus with China was $3.77 billion (about 5.8 trillion won) in 2025. That falls far short of $4.32 billion (about 6.6 trillion won) in 2024 and $7.61 billion (about 11.6 trillion won) in 2016. Chinese tourism to Korea plunged after the 2017 deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system sparked tensions between the two countries. It suffered an additional blow from COVID-19.
What is clear is that the nature of Chinese tourism is changing. "Before the pandemic, group tours and professional resellers were prominent, but now the share of individual travelers appears to have grown," Park said.
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