Quick Summary:
- Overseas travel remains popular among Koreans – a third of the population traveled abroad in the second half of 2024.
- Half of Koreans already have travel plans to go overseas in 2025
- Japan, South East Asia and Taiwan make the top 3 travel destinations
- Instagram and Kakaotalk are the most popular platforms to share travel experiences – the places for your digital advertising Korea
Where in the world have Koreans been in 2024?
While travelling has been a difficult endeavor in the years following 2020, it is finally possible again to travel wherever and whenever we like to explore the world. And Korea is no exception to that. According to a survey by Open Survey, 34.4% of Koreans took the chance to leave the country in the second half of 2024 to travel overseas and explore a new place.
And the number only keeps rising when looking at the prospect for the year 2025. 50.9% of Koreans already have plans to travel overseas in 2025. This shows a great enthusiasm among Koreans for new experiences, curiosity about the world, while at the same time presenting a great opportunity for advertisers to get to know their audience on the Korean market better to improve their digital advertising Korea.
Top 7 overseas travel destinations
The world is big, so at some point you need to decide on the final destination for your next trip. According to Open Survey, Koreans already have a list of popular vacation destinations in mind from which to choose. At the very top of this list is Japan with 43.8% of Koreans voicing an interest in going. A very close second is South East Asia with destinations like Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and more with 39.8%. At the same time, South East Asia is the most popular among people in their 40s while the majority of 20-year-olds lean towards Japan as the number one.
In third and fourth place, Taiwan and China respectively continue the list with China being one of two favored destinations by people in their 60s. Western Europe with countries like France or Germany just makes it to the top five while Hong Kong secures a close sixth place and Southern Europe comes in as number seven with countries like Greece, Türkiye or Portugal while also being well favored by 60-year-olds.
Travel posts and channels to consider for your digital advertising Korea
Not only do Koreans like to travel, they also like to post about it during and later on their social media. For most this keeps the memories of an amazing holiday fresh and the pictures and posts take them right back to a day at the beach in the Philippines or their visit to the Louvre in Paris. According to Open Survey, 65.6% of travellers leave a trace of their adventures online. The go-to choice here: Instagram. Instagram is a very popular choice for women in their 20s as well as both men and women in their 30s who use the platform to post stories, reels and photos about their time abroad.
Naver Blog is another well-used platform by women in their 30s to give a more in depth insight into their experiences, making it the third most popular platform.
Kakaotalk is the number two behind Instagram and is a highly appreciated platform especially among men and women in their 60s to share their travel experiences with others in their Kakaotalk story online.
While these platforms are often used to recap an experience that has already passed, they can also serve as new inspiration for the next trip when looking at other people’s photos and posts. Travel enthusiasts are therefore likely to spend more time on platforms like Instagram, Kakaotalk or Naver Blog, either to post something themselves or to check out where other people have been to recently. These platforms present a strong opportunity for advertisers to grow their digital presence and run digital advertising Korea and engage the right audience on each platform.
Conclusion
Not only is there a continued growing interest among Koreans to travel abroad, may that be somewhat close like Japan or quite far away like France, they also like to fondly remember their travels and share their experiences with others online. Familiarizing yourself with Korean travel habits and developing an awareness for the platforms used to document travels can be a major tool in your digital advertising Korea and help you better understand where local interests lie.
Did you miss part one of our travel series where we talked about whether Koreans prefer to visit multiple places or one singular one during their travels? Or whether tourism actually trumps a more relaxing vacation? Make sure to check out part one: 2025 Overseas Travel trend in Korea 1: What do Koreans look for when planning their travel overseas?
If you are also interested in the channels used most commonly for finding and booking accommodations and activities, keep reading with part three of our Travel series: 2025 Overseas Travel trend in Korea 3: Which platforms do Koreans trust to plan their travels overseas?
Do you still have more questions or want to make sure you use your newly found knowledge in the most effective way possible? Contact us for further expertise into the Korean market and our full support for the success of your marketing strategy for digital advertising Korea.
Stay competitive in Korea’s digital market with Waterbe by subscribing our newsletter and mastering Ads 101!