The number of Koreans and foreigners going in and out of South Korea surpassed 40 million last year for the first time.

The Justice Ministry says the tally of locals and foreigners who arrived and departed from South Korea in 2010 was 43-million, a 22-percent increase from 2009.

According to the ministry, the number of Korean travelers jumped by 31-percent to 25-million from a year earlier, while that of foreigners increased by 11-percent to 17-million.

The top destination for Korean travelers was China at two-point-eight million, followed by Japan, the U.S. and Thailand.

Among inbound travelers, Japanese topped the list at three-million people, followed by Chinese at one-point-seven million, the U.S. and Taiwan.

The number of foreigners staying in Korea in 2010 also increased eight-percent from the year before.