Korea will increase its target for the number of foreign tourists to the country to 8.5 million in 2010.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization said on Saturday that it decided to raise the target of foreign tourists in 2010 by 700,000 from 2009, in which 7.8 million foreign tourists visited.

The Culture Ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization had initially set the target at 8.3 million, but increased that goal in consideration of the “Visit Korea Year” campaign, which will begin in 2010 and continue into 2012. It plans to bring foreign tourists to Korea with proactive efforts in China and Japan.

Last year, foreign tourists surpassed 7 million for the first time, and exceeded the target of 7.5 million.

The Culture Ministry and tourism organization are aiming for 10 million tourists in 2012, the final “Visit Korea Year.”