Visitors crowd Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul on Sept. 20. NEWS1 Korea welcomed a record 15.05 million inbound visitors in the first eight months of this year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Monday. The figure was up 21.6 percent from 12.38 million recorded over the same period last year. August alone brought 2.25 million visitors to Korea — the highest monthly figure on record. Among the 15.05 million visitors, hundreds of thousands were from Southeast Asian countries. A total of 454,000 Filipinos visited Korea this year over the cited period, up 16.1 percent from a year earlier. The number of Vietnamese visitors came to 407,000 people, an increase of 10.5 percent, and Indonesians to 205,000, a 22.5 percent jump. 무료충전 바다이야기 Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia each accounted for more than 200,000 visitors during the period. The ministry partially attributed the growth to its border control and immigration efforts — coordinated with the Ministry of Justice — that eased entry barriers to Korea. Eligibility restrictions on visa issuance were alleviated for tourists from 11 Southeast Asian countries starting on March 30. Additionally, Korea is running a temporary visa-waiver entry program for tour groups from Indonesia. The historic high number of overall foreign visitors was also mirrored in their spending. 모바일 10원 야마토게임 They spent a record 14.02 trillion won ($10.3 billion) with their credit cards from January through August, a 48.5 percent jump from the previous year’s 9.44 trillion won. A total of 27.8 percent of foreigners also entered Korea via regional airports and ports outside the greater Seoul area. “With entry barriers and tailored tourism marketing, the mix of visitors has diversified,” Kang Jung-won, the chief of the ministry’s tourism policy office, said in a press release. “As October tends to receive the highest number of foreign visitors, the ministry will cautiously manage their entry procedures. We will also work to sustain the momentum through the fourth quarter through marketing tied to Korean culture.” BY LEE SOO-JUNG [] ="nofollow