Japanese topped the list of inbound travelers to South Korea in the first five months of this year, data showed.

A total of 662,579 Japanese nationals visited Korea between January and May, accounting for 19.2 percent of total inbound travelers to the country, according to data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization.

It marked a dramatic hike from 11,425 during the same period of 2022, when Japanese tourists accounted for only 2 percent of the inbound travelers to South Korea.

By gender, 34.2 percent of Japanese travelers were men and 65.7 percent were women, except for flight attendants, during the first five months of this year.

In particular, women aged between 21 and 30 came to 183,001, accounting for 27.6 percent of total travelers. (Yonhap)