The number of foreign tourists to South Korea increased three-point-six percent in the first half on-year to total five-point-53 million people.
 
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Monday that while Japanese tourists decreased 27 percent to one-point-34 million, Chinese tourists jumped 46 percent to one-point-74 million in the January-June period, leading the boost in first-half foreign tourists.
 
Accordingly, the accumulated number of Chinese tourists topped that of Japanese tourists for the first time.
 
The ministry viewed that Chinese visitors increased thanks to the growing popularity of the Korean cultural wave, or Hallyu, while the number of Japanese tourists decreased due to the weak yen.
 
Meanwhile, tourists from Hong Kong increased ten percent and Indonesian tourists grew 21 percent in the first half of the year.