The Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO) said Wednesday the number of Koreans going abroad in the first quarter of the year soared 21 percent from a year ago. The KNTO said 1,689,000 domestic travellers left the country in the first quarter, up 20.9 percent from the same period last year. China was the most popular destination, with 387,000 travellers, up a whopping 58.1 percent year-on-year. Japan was the next choice attracting 310,000 Korean tourists, followed by the United States with 163,000, Thailand with 153,000, the Philippines with 67,000 and Hong Kong with 62,000. Of the outbound tourists, 802,000, or 47.5 percent, left for sightseeing, a 41.2 percent hike from the same period last year, while 96,000 went abroad for language study or other education purposes.