Ladies carrying conventional costumes in Yue Park in Shanghai, January 21. Agence France-Presse – Yonhap
HONG KONG – For Choi Yu-jin, a 31-year-old clothier based mostly in Seoul, the right getaway requires three must-haves: worth, nice road views, and unforgettable flavors. She says Shanghai fulfills all three points.
Three visits since 2024, with a fourth deliberate for April, are a testomony to a metropolis that’s more and more capturing the imaginations – and wallets – of Korean travellers, buoyed by visa-free entry and a burgeoning status for its cosmopolitan really feel.
“The eating places and streets have been remarkably clear,” Choi mentioned. “Even high-end eating places had decrease costs than in Korea, with out compromising on style.”
Her expertise underscores Shanghai’s persevering with enchantment as one of the crucial well-liked locations for Korean vacationers – a development bolstered by China’s 30-day visa-free entry coverage launched in November 2024.
The variety of Korean guests to Shanghai rose from about 570,000 guests in 2023 to 1.1 million in 2024, earlier than rising in 2025 by one other 23.6 p.c, year-on-year, in accordance with information from the nation’s aviation data portal. Quick flight instances, mixed with inexpensive meals and sights, helped appeal to a complete of 1.37 million Korean guests to the town final yr – practically 43% of all Korean visits to mainland China, up from 35% in 2024, the info confirmed.
Shanghai’s reputation exhibits no signal of abating in 2026.
Mode Tour Worldwide, certainly one of Korea’s main journey companies, mentioned the town led all January bookings to mainland China, the place bookings jumped 260% in comparison with the earlier yr.
Journey throughout Seoulal – the standard Korean Lunar New 12 months celebration, which runs from February 14 to 18 this yr – noticed a barely bigger improve in comparison with the Seoulal vacation week of 2025, with bookings rising by 270%.
Road distributors promote meals at an evening market in Shanghai, China, November 2025. Reuters-Yonhap
International reserving platform Agoda additionally lately ranked Shanghai as the highest vacation spot for Korean vacationers in its 2026 New Horizons rankings, based mostly on lodging information from the previous two years.
Korean vacationers and journey business professionals informed The Korea Instances that Shanghai is an accessible entry level for these unfamiliar with China, providing a extra cosmopolitan and globally linked expertise than different mainland cities.
Music Hao, an English-speaking tour information with 30 years of expertise in Shanghai, identified how younger vacationers are drawn to photogenic neighborhoods that mix historical past with trendy life-style developments, typically presenting a recent, trendy picture of China.
“They like locations like Xintiandi, Wukang or Tianzifang,” Music mentioned. The Xintiandi space options preserved homes with stone gates relationship again to the nineteenth century, a lot of which have been remodeled into upscale eating and outlets. Wukang Highway is legendary for its historic European-style structure. Tianzifang is an arts and crafts district with labyrinthine alleys.
“Modern and classy eating places and cafes, in addition to cosplay and cyber-themed venues, are very talked-about,” Music mentioned.
With flight instances of round two hours and powerful worth propositions, Shanghai additionally attracts cost-conscious travellers.
“Whereas many Koreans have historically chosen close by Japanese cities like Fukuoka or Osaka, Shanghai stands out as an equally handy vacation spot with higher affordability,” mentioned Lee Ji-won, a Seoul-based workplace employee who visited Shanghai in 2025. “There may be an abundance of eating, leisure and procuring choices — all at a comparatively low price.”
Folks purchase decorations for the upcoming Lunar New 12 months at a retailer in Shanghai on Wednesday. EPA-Yonhap
Subramanya Bhatt, CEO of journey advertising and marketing and expertise agency China Buying and selling Desk, expects the momentum to proceed as China seeks to draw extra worldwide guests with handy entry procedures. He mentioned Beijing’s visa exemption insurance policies are a part of a “structural technique” geared toward reviving tourism amid a chronic home financial slowdown.
In November, China prolonged its visa exemption coverage for 45 eligible international locations, together with Korea, till December 31 this yr.
“The bottom case is that these insurance policies are more likely to be maintained, barring geopolitical or operational shocks,” Bhatt mentioned.
The variety of Korean vacationers visiting China is predicted to rise by 24.2% in 2026, reaching 3.94 million, in accordance with a January 13 report by Yanolja Analysis. The Seoul-based personal analysis institute devoted to the journey and tourism business mentioned the anticipated progress price would be the quickest in comparison with the highest 4 abroad journey locations in Korea in 2025 – Japan, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
Shanghai’s renaissance might assist diversify mainland vacation spot choices for Koreans in the long run, mentioned Jang Soo-cheong, a professor of hospitality and tourism administration at Purdue College within the US and director of Yanolia.
He famous that different cities, together with Chengdu, Qingdao and Hainan, are slowly beginning to appeal to the curiosity of Korean travellers, particularly those that have had constructive experiences in Shanghai.
“Any further, Shanghai vacationers’ experiences are more likely to unfold throughout the nation, paving the best way for a broader ‘rediscovery’ of journey in China,” Zhang mentioned.
On the identical time, the variety of Chinese language vacationers visiting Korea has elevated. The variety of Chinese language arrivals will attain 5.37 million in 2025, up 16.7 p.c from 4.6 million the earlier yr. Yanolja Analysis’s January report predicted the quantity would develop by 14.5 p.c this yr to six.15 million. Korea has had a short lived visa-free entry coverage for Chinese language group excursions since September 2025.
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