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South Korea welcomed 17.11 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of 2026, a 21.5% increase from the same period last year, according to the Korea Times and Yonhap. The Korea Times reports the country is on track to surpass last year's full-year total by October, while Yonhap notes arrivals already exceeded 17 million. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released the data on Oct. 22, with September arrivals up 21.1% year-on-year at 2.06 million, as reported by Yonhap's Japanese service. Korean economic daily Hankyung says the October figure will break the all-time annual record.