South Korean travelers' fears reshape regional travel toward North Asia

South Korean travelers increasingly shun Southeast Asia for safety reasons

Tuesday, 25 Nov, 2025 0

South Korean travel to Southeast Asia is taking a sharp downturn. Rising fears over human trafficking and scam operations in Cambodia is now spreading to more destinations in Southeast Asia such as the Philippines, Thailand and even Singapore. The trend reshapes outbound travel patterns and accelerates a broader shift toward China as a preferred short-haul destination.

Newly released figures from Incheon International Airport Corp. show that in October, departures from South Korea to Southeast Asian countries fell 7.25% from the previous month to 784,962 travelers. This is in sharp contrast with a 3.1% growth in overall international passenger traffic to more than 6.39 million.

Cambodia posted the steepest decline: arrivals plunged 15.4%, slipping from 13,727 in September to 11,613 in October. The Philippines and Thailand also recorded notable drops, with outbound traffic down 18.9% to 120,175 and down 5% to 157,402 respectively.

Cambodia scams drag down the interest towards most ASEAN countries

The pullback follows a wave of alarming reports in October detailing how young South Koreans, often enticed by fictitious job offers in tech or digital marketing, were trafficked into scam compounds operating in loosely regulated special economic zones in Cambodia. Victims were allegedly detained, forced to engage in online fraud, subjected to beatings and, in some cases, resold to other criminal groups.

Public sentiment has shifted rapidly. A Realmeter poll conducted Oct. 21 found 82.4% of respondents said the recent crimes influenced their perception of travel to Southeast Asia. The figure is even jumping to 88.3% among people in their 20s. More than half—56%—said South Korea’s Foreign Ministry mishandled the initial response to the crisis.

Travel agencies say the impact is already rippling through the market. “This isn’t just about group tours being pulled,” a travel-industry official told local media. “We’re seeing a tangible drop in demand from individual travelers—especially business visitors and solo leisure travelers. Package tours will likely feel the effect by year-end.”

Outbound general slowdown

The latest concerns also intersect with a broader structural trend in South Korean outbound travel. In the first half of 2025, the country recorded about 14.56 million outbound travelers, up nearly 4% from a year earlier.

But analysts say the growth appears to be leveling off. The standout shift has been a surge in travel to China, which is increasingly replacing traditional flows to South-east Asia.

China and Japan together saw a net increase of 740,000 travelers in H1 2025, of which China accounted for 470,000. In parallel, Thailand and the Philippines saw net declines of 150,000 and 140,000, respectively. Even Singapore recorded a drop of 12,000 Korean travelers during the first 9 months of 2025. Vietnam could now be the newest victim. News in Korea started to spread the information that criminal groups working in Cambodia start shifting activities to Vietnam.

The recent catastrophic typhoons and flooding in many southeast Asian countries are likely to translate into a further decline from South Korean visitors until year-end. While benefiting to North Asia destinations.