Foreign visitors surge in Seoul on BTS concert day: Data

Major commercial districts in Seoul saw a sharp rise in foreign visitors on the day of BTS' concert in the capital earlier this month, with Seongsu-dong emerging as a new shopping hub, industry data showed on Sunday.

More than 78,000 foreigners visited Jung Ward, home to the popular Myeongdong shopping district, on March 21, when BTS held its comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul, up 15.1 percent from a year ago, according to data compiled by a statistics portal run by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO).

Jongno Ward, where Gwanghwamun Plaza is located, saw 37,000 foreign visitors, up 49.9 percent from a year earlier, followed by Mapo Ward with 36,000, Gangnam Ward with 34,000 and Yongsan Ward with 31,000.

Seongdong Ward, which includes Seongsu-dong, recorded 21,000 foreign travelers on the day, up 52.6 per cent from a year earlier.

The KTO data covers only users of roaming services provided by SK Telecom Co., excluding those using other mobile carriers or local subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.