"They Always Go There When They Visit Korea"...A Rush Right After Landing: How Foreign Tourist Routes Have Been Transformed [New K-Tourism Landscape] ②

The era of 20 million inbound tourists
From body scrubs to saju... unique experiences draw foreign visitors
Hotels roll out matching "experience-based" offerings

Editor's NoteThe travel routes of foreign visitors to Korea have changed. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, package tours that circled major tourist attractions and large shopping facilities such as duty-free shops were the mainstream. After the shift to the endemic phase, however, there has been an overwhelming increase in small-scale family free independent travel (FIT) focused on experiencing the K-lifestyle. Everyday life in Korea, spread globally through K-content such as K-pop, movies, and dramas, has been re-diffused via social media, making it the main purpose of a trip to Korea to experience, as closely as possible, the same Korean food, cosmetics, fashion, medical services, and even unique niche services. In a domestic market facing negative growth due to population decline, foreign tourists are like "welcome rain in a drought." With nearly 20 million foreign visitors per year, The Asia Business Daily is examining how inbound tourists are breathing life into the domestic market and exploring pathways for sustainable K-tourism.

One-Person Sesin Shop, Saju Cafe. Reporters Kwon Jaehee and Han Yejoo

"Please tell me if it hurts."

On the wall in front of the scrubbing bed, that sentence is written in Korean, explaining how to say it in English and Japanese.

"Are you sick?" "Itaidesuka?"

A back alley in Gangnam. The signboard is not big. As soon as you open the door, the price list catches your eye. On both sides of the Korean signboard, English and Japanese signs are neatly displayed. This is a one-person sesin shop. There are only three rooms where you can get sesin, and it operates by reservation only.

When you open the door and go in, each private changing room is decorated like a small hotel room. It is equipped with a dressing table and mirror, a body dryer, a hair dryer, and even a clothing steamer. It feels more like a "private spa" than a "public bath." After undressing and opening the door on the left, you enter a spacious area. Along one wall is a private tub, and in the center stands the scrubbing bed.

A sign for foreign visitors hangs inside a one-person sesin shop in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kwon Jaehee

Recently, about half of the customers here are said to be foreigners.

"In the past, it was mostly pregnant women who found it hard to go to a public bathhouse. If someone said they were from overseas, they were almost always Korean residents abroad. These days, tourists make reservations and come. Most of them are Japanese, followed by Americans. They book through Line, they come after seeing us on Instagram, and they also come through apps for booking experience programs."

The sesin lady said this. The foreign-language phrases on the wall are clues that show how the Korean travel patterns of foreign visitors have changed. Instead of on a luxury-brand store floor, foreign tourists are experiencing "K-beauty" on a scrubbing bed. It is not just simple exfoliation; they are experiencing Korean-style bathing culture.

Interior of a one-person shoe-shine shop in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kwon Jaehee

In recent years, foreign tourists visiting Korea have been changing their consumption patterns. Rather than filling their bags with global luxury brands at duty-free shops, they prefer "experiential consumption" such as K-food, Korean traditional culture experiences, and beauty and wellness. In particular, there has been a noticeable increase in foreign tourists who spend their leisure time like Koreans and follow the hot places favored by Koreans.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization on the 17th, spending by foreign tourists on unique experiences in the first half of last year increased by 382.5% compared with the first half of 2024. In particular, as Netflix has established itself as a primary channel for overseas visitors to obtain information about traveling in Korea, the bathhouse scene in the globally popular "K-Pop Demon Hunters" has become a hot topic, leading to a sharp rise in "sesin experiences." According to Creatrip, "one-person sesin shops" emerged as a new category, with transaction volume in the second half of 2025 increasing by about 170% compared with the first half.

Beyond sesin, "K-saju" is also becoming established as another experiential tourism product among foreigners visiting Korea. In major tourist areas, it is easy to find signs for saju or tarot, and there is a growing trend of sandwich boards written in Japanese, Chinese, and English. In fact, on the 12th in the heart of Myeong-dong in Seoul, in front of a saju cafe located between a cosmetics store and a K-pop goods shop, Japanese was the first language that could be heard. Yui, a 30-something office worker from Osaka, said, "It felt like a waste to just go shopping in Myeong-dong, so I stopped by while looking for something different," adding, "It was fascinating that my personality was interpreted for me using a traditional Korean method."

A saju cafe located in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. It has recently been chosen as a tourist destination by foreign visitors such as Japanese and Chinese. Han Yeju, Reporter

Mr. A, who runs this place, has 40 years of experience in saju alone and has been based in Myeong-dong for more than 25 years. "When Myeong-dong was called the number one tourist spot, most of my customers were Japanese," he said. "In the early days, I hardly did any consultations for Koreans."

As word spread, he appeared on Japanese television and was introduced in Japanese travel guidebooks. Among Japanese travelers, the cafe is known as a "must-visit spot when you go to Seoul."

During the COVID-19 period, he was hit hard as foreign visitors stopped coming, but in the past one to two years since the endemic phase began, reservations have been pouring in again. Japanese customers make reservations via the Line messenger about a month in advance and include a saju consultation in their itinerary. Mr. A said, "These days, it is almost impossible to visit on the same day," adding, "I am doing consultations with no days off."

The consultation topics are not much different across nationalities: marriage, relationships, getting a job, and career paths. Recently, as the number of tourists in their 20s and 30s has increased, there are many questions about romantic prospects. It is a pattern in which a generation that has become familiar with Korean culture through K-dramas and K-pop naturally develops an interest in traditional fortune-telling, or saju. There are also a fair number of Chinese tourists. In those cases, Mr. A's daughter serves as an interpreter.

Among Myeong-dong merchants, saju cafes are also regarded as one of the pillars driving foreign consumption. As "getting a fortune told" is added to the tourism route alongside cosmetics, fashion, and food, visitors stay longer and this leads to additional spending in the surrounding commercial area.

A saju cafe located in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Japanese-language information is provided for foreign tourists. Reporter Han Yeju

Traditional culture draws interest through hanok stays and traditional liquor experiences

It is not just sesin. Hanok stays, traditional liquor tastings, and cooking classes, which were once regarded as part of everyday local culture, are being reinterpreted as tourism products. In line with this trend, the hotel industry is also quickly rolling out experiential programs.

The Westin Chosun Hotel has launched the "Herendy Signature Package: Sensory Ritual Stay" as a wellness program for guests staying two nights or more. At the wellness facilities of The Westin Chosun Hotel, it offers customized scrub services tailored to skin type through the Korean-style sesin program "On-gi." In addition, it has introduced "Hanmaru," a happy hour promotion targeting foreign guests that allows them to experience Korean culture firsthand. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., a variety of alcoholic beverages are prepared, including Korean drinks such as soju, bokbunja wine, and Makgeolli, and the program features hands-on content such as taking photos while wearing hanbok. When introducing Korean drinking culture, guests can taste Makgeolli paired with chimaek (chicken and beer) and seafood pajeon, and experience traditional Korean games such as yutnori.

A representative of The Westin Chosun Hotel said, "Among foreign guests, there is strong response to experiential content that goes beyond simply staying overnight, especially content that allows them to experience Korean culture," adding, "In the case of the sesin program 'On-gi' at The Westin Chosun Seoul, 80% of users are foreigners, and foreign guests who have experienced the sesin program show a high rate of return visits when they come back to Seoul."

The Westin Chosun Hotel has introduced "Hanmaru", a happy hour promotion targeting foreign guests where they can experience Korean culture. Last November, foreign guests who took part in a Gimjang experience posed for photos holding Gimjang props. Westin Chosun Seoul