South Korea’s air passenger traffic reached a record high in 2025, driven by strong international travel demand, government data showed on Friday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported that 124.8 million passengers used South Korean airports last year, up 3.9 per cent from 120 million in 2024. This marked the country’s highest annual total, surpassing the previous peak of 123.4 million in 2019.
The increase was largely fueled by international travel, which rose 6.3 per cent to about 94.5 million passengers, while domestic travel slipped 2.8 per cent to 30.2 million over the same period.
By destination, traffic to and from Japan climbed 8.6 per cent to more than 27.3 million, supported in part by a weak Japanese yen.
Passengers between South Korea and China surged 22 per cent to 16.8 million, boosted by visa-waiver programmes in both countries. Travel to other Asian nations edged down 0.5 per cent to 34.8 million.
Meanwhile, 6.8 million travellers used routes between South Korea and the United States, up 4.7 per cent, and 4.9 million flew between South Korea and Europe, up 5.5 per cent year on year.
The data highlights a strong rebound in outbound travel, reflecting renewed demand for international destinations among South Korean travellers.
Yonhap News Agency
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