A record number of South Koreans went abroad in August at the peak of summer vacation, exceeding 900,000 for the first time in a one-month period.

The Korea National Tourism Organization says the record figure is a 17 percent increase from August of last year, breaking the previous record from the month before.

Out of the total outbound travelers, 58 percent were vacationers, more than double last year's portion.

By destination, China was the most popular spot with 284,000 Korean visitors, followed by Japan, Thailand, the U.S. and the Philippines.

Inbound visitors from foreign countries also marked a rise last month with 523,000, up 15 percent from a year earlier.