Visitors watch a makeup artist demonstrate makeup techniques during the 2026 Korea Beauty Festival at HiKR Ground in Seoul, June 25. Yonhap

A viral video of a Japanese calligraphy teacher’s reunion with her famous student offered an interesting glimpse at one of Korea’s fastest-growing tourism trends.

In a YouTube video uploaded on June 28 by rising K-pop girl group RESCENE, Japanese member Minami visited her hometown in Chiba and reunited with her former calligraphy teacher. During their conversation, the teacher revealed that she had flown back to Japan that day, after undergoing a cosmetic procedure near Sinnonhyeon Station in southern Seoul, drawing laughter from the group.

Although the conversation was lighthearted, it showed one of the reasons why many foreign tourists choose to visit Korea.

Minami of K-pop girl group RESCENE meets with her former calligraphy teacher, who talks about her recent wellness experiences in Korea in a video uploaded to fellow member Woni’s official YouTube channel on June 28. Captured from Woni’s official YouTube channel

For years, K-beauty was largely synonymous with cosmetics. Tourists would fill their suitcases with sheet masks, skin care products and makeup before heading home.

Today, however, an increasing number of visitors are booking appointments at dermatology clinics, receiving scalp treatments, consulting personal color experts, visiting pharmacies and participating in wellness programs that promise healthier lifestyles as well as improvements in appearance.

This growing demand shows the rise of wellness tourism, a type of travel that focuses on improving both physical and mental health. In Korea, this trend is unique because it mixes medical technology, beauty services, and lifestyle experiences into special travel packages that are hard to find in other countries.

Social media lead trend

Industry officials say social media has helped speed growth in wellness tourism. Thanks to beauty content on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, young people around the world have become familiar with Korean skin care, clinics and pharmacy products. Many tourists now plan their trips carefully to visit these clinics as well as traditional sightseeing.

“We have seen a noticeable increase in foreign patients over the past few years, in addition to our domestic customers,” a dermatologist operating a clinic in southern Seoul told The Korea Times.

“Many Japanese visitors come for laser lifting procedures, wrinkle treatments and pigmentation removal. Demand has increased enough that we are strengthening our social media marketing specifically targeting Japanese tourists.”

The shift is becoming increasingly visible in government data.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), foreign visitors spent more than 2 trillion won ($1.3 billion) here using credit cards in May, marking the first time monthly spending exceeded the 2 trillion won mark. The figure was a 67.1 percent increase from the same month last year and underscored the rapid recovery of Korea’s inbound tourism market.

Beauty and wellness-related businesses recorded some of the strongest growth.

Spending at skin care and massage businesses surged 153.9 percent from a year earlier, while dermatology clinics posted an 85.5 percent increase. Pharmacy spending rose by an even larger 206.1 percent, suggesting that visitors are increasingly combining medical procedures with purchases of skin care products, nutritional supplements and over-the-counter medicines.

The figures indicate that Korea’s tourism industry is generating higher spending per visitor, in addition to attracting larger numbers of visitors. Instead of spending most of their travel budget at department stores and duty-free shops, overseas tourists are increasingly seeking services and products similar to those found in the everyday lives of Koreans.

Customers look through health supplements and skin care products at Ready Young Pharmacy in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Beyond cosmetics

The changing travel pattern has also transformed pharmacies into one of Korea’s newest shopping destinations for foreign visitors.

Stores like Ready Young Pharmacy have rapidly expanded in tourist districts such as Myeong-dong, Hongdae, Gangnam and Seongsu-dong. They carry over-the-counter medicines, functional skin care products and health supplements. Unlike conventional pharmacies, these stores resemble health and beauty retailers where customers freely browse shelves but can also consult pharmacists about products that suit their needs.

“I had a skin treatment in southern Seoul in the morning before coming to Seongsu for lunch and shopping. I also stopped by a pharmacy to buy health supplements and skin care products,” a Chinese tourist visiting a premium pharmacy in Seongsu-dong said.

“Luxury goods are always attractive, but Korean medicine and health products are also known for their quality. Visiting these pharmacies has become one of the reasons I travel to Korea.”

Many of the products gaining popularity are not luxury goods but everyday items that Koreans have long purchased without much attention. Acne medication, scar ointments, functional cosmetics and nutritional supplements are now widely recommended through social media as essential purchases during trips to Korea.

The trend reflects how K-beauty itself has evolved. Instead of focusing solely on premium cosmetics brands, visitors are becoming interested in Korean lifestyles and daily wellness routines, creating new opportunities for retailers.

Customers browse health supplements and skin care products at Ready Young Pharmacy in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, June 30. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Beyond Seoul

The growing popularity of beauty and wellness tourism is no longer confined to Seoul.

The KTO data showed that spending on K-beauty and wellness by foreign visitors increased 38.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while spending on medical tourism rose 33.2 percent.

Dermatology accounted for 55.7 percent of medical tourism spending, followed by plastic surgery at 21.1 percent, demonstrating how beauty-related treatments have become one of the biggest drivers of Korea’s medical tourism industry.

The rapid increase also suggests that overseas visitors are spending more on experiences rather than simply purchasing products.

“The global tourism market recovered to around 103 percent of its pre-pandemic level in 2025, while Korea’s inbound tourism reached 108 percent,” said Kim Young-mi, head of the KTO’s Tourism AI Innovation Division, during a tourism data seminar held in May.

“Korea’s tourism industry is growing not only in terms of visitor numbers but also in quality. High-value theme tourism is expanding while tourism spending is becoming more balanced across different regions.”

Kim said beauty and wellness tourism have emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors of Korea’s inbound tourism industry. She added that the trend is no longer concentrated in Seoul, with destinations like Jeju and Busan attracting growing numbers of visitors seeking medical services and wellness experiences.

The findings suggest that beauty tourism is becoming an effective way to encourage travelers to explore more destinations outside the capital.

A building directory in front of a commercial building near Nonhyeon Station in Seoul lists a range of medical and wellness clinics, June 30. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

The government is now working to keep up that momentum.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KTO launched the 2026 Korea Beauty Festival on June 24 to transform Korea’s globally recognized beauty industry into a tourism platform.

Held at HiKR Ground in central Seoul, the festival allows foreign visitors to experience various aspects of Korean beauty culture, including makeup, hairstyling, scalp diagnosis, personal color analysis and fashion consulting.

The event also connects visitors with nearly 800 beauty tourism products through partnerships with nine global online travel agencies, allowing travelers to book beauty experiences alongside accommodations and transportation through Sept. 30.

Officials hope the program will encourage visitors to spend more time in Korea while expanding beauty-related tourism.

“K-beauty is creating new possibilities,” Kang Jung-won, head of the ministry’s Tourism Policy Bureau, said during the festival’s opening ceremony. “It has evolved beyond the beauty industry to become one of Korea’s representative cultural contents.”