On recent weekends in central Seoul, the narrow alleys of Jongno’s Ikseon dong and the lantern lined streets that lead toward Gyeongbokgung Palace have felt less like a historic Korean neighborhood and more like a global festival ground. Tour groups from the United States pause outside retro concept cafes to snap photos inspired by K dramas, while visitors from China, Japan, and Taiwan stream past in rented hanbok, queuing for everything from street food to artisan jewelry. With flights into Seoul packed and top tier hotels fully booked, Jongno has become the epicenter of a new wave of K culture tourism that is reshaping travel patterns across Northeast Asia and the Pacific.
Jongno Becomes the New Front Door to K Culture
For decades, first time visitors to Seoul gravitated toward Gangnam’s glass towers or the neon shopping streets of Myeong dong. In 2025, the center of gravity has shifted decisively north of the river. Jongno, home to royal palaces, Confucian academies, and labyrinthine markets, has been rediscovered as the most photogenic and “authentically Korean” district, supercharged by its constant cameos in hit dramas, variety shows, and social media travel vlogs. Walking routes that connect Gwanghwamun Square, Bukchon Hanok Village, and Ikseon dong are now among the city’s most crowded corridors, with local authorities deploying extra staff to guide foot traffic and protect residential alleys from overtourism.
At Bukchon Hanok Village in particular, the contrast between daily life and visitor numbers has become stark. Fewer than 7,000 residents share their streets with several million visitors annually, prompting restrictions on visiting hours and repeated calls for quiet from residents who still live in the historic wooden homes. Tour groups from Tokyo and Taipei now arrive with printed etiquette cards in Japanese and Chinese, advising travelers to speak softly, avoid peering into courtyards, and keep tripods away from doorways. The result is a delicate balancing act: preserving a living neighborhood while welcoming an unprecedented wave of global curiosity.
Yet it is precisely that tension that many travelers say they come to experience. In interviews, visitors from Los Angeles and Shanghai describe Jongno as a place where the glamorous fantasy of K dramas overlaps with the everyday rhythms of city life. Cafes in restored hanok houses serve carefully curated photo spots alongside traditional teas, and design boutiques sell updated versions of classic crafts. For a new generation of international travelers, this mix of heritage and hyper modern culture is what makes Seoul feel unique when compared with other Asian megacities.
Flights From the U.S., China, Japan, and Taiwan Fill to Capacity
The surge in interest is showing up most clearly in the skies. Airlines operating trans Pacific and regional routes into Seoul Incheon report some of their highest seat load factors since before the pandemic, with peak holiday periods and festival weekends selling out weeks in advance. Delta Air Lines, which has spent the last several years positioning Incheon as its principal Asian hub alongside partner Korean Air, now connects Seoul to a growing constellation of U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle, and the newly launched service from Salt Lake City. That route, inaugurated in mid 2025 with an Airbus A350, is the first direct link between Utah and Asia and is already drawing strong demand from leisure travelers eager to reach Seoul’s cultural districts with a single overnight flight.
Travel agents interviewed in Los Angeles and New York describe a marked rise in first time visitors to Korea from across the United States, often driven by teens and twenty somethings who have discovered Korean content through streaming platforms and social media. Multi generational family trips that once defaulted to Japan are now being split between Tokyo and Seoul, while others bypass previous favorites entirely to focus on K pop experiences, filming locations, and food tours centered in Jongno and neighboring districts. Airlines have responded with expanded capacity where possible, but pricing on popular dates frequently reflects the reality of near full cabins.
Regional carriers are seeing parallel trends. From major Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, flights to Seoul are filling with millennial and Gen Z travelers combining shopping, skincare, and live concerts in weekend itineraries. Japanese low cost and full service airlines are ramping up service from Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, catering to repeat visitors who return to Seoul several times a year. Travelers from Taiwan, long familiar with Korea as a winter ski destination, are now more likely to plan short breaks around exhibitions, K pop fan events, and themed cafes in central Seoul.
As demand ripples through the network, booking a seat into Incheon on short notice has become a gamble, particularly on Fridays and Sundays. Even with increased frequencies from U.S. and Asian gateways, the appetite for Seoul shows few signs of plateauing, and competing airlines are closely watching whether additional capacity could be justified on key routes.
Delta, Asiana, and ANA Ride the K Culture Wave
Among carriers benefitting most from Seoul’s moment in the global spotlight are Delta Air Lines, Asiana Airlines, and All Nippon Airways. For Delta, the expansion of its joint venture with Korean Air has turned Incheon into a true connecting powerhouse, allowing passengers from mid sized American cities to reach Seoul and beyond with one stop. The new Salt Lake City service, timed for convenient connections from the Mountain West and Southwest, is projected to carry well over one hundred thousand passengers a year once fully mature, many of them tourists headed for Seoul and its increasingly famous neighborhoods.
Asiana, despite facing restructuring pressures and an eventual merger with Korean Air, continues to leverage its reputation for service and its strong presence in North America and Japan. Flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, and Seattle into Seoul are frequently reported at or near full capacity during peak periods. The airline has also leaned into K culture marketing, showcasing Korean cuisine, cinema, and music in its in flight entertainment and promotional materials, effectively turning the long haul journey into an appetizer for what awaits in Jongno and beyond.
All Nippon Airways, long a bridge between Japan and Korea, is seeing a different but equally powerful trend. A growing subset of Japanese travelers now view Seoul as an affordable and accessible alternative to domestic city breaks. Short flight times from Tokyo and western Japan, combined with favorable exchange rates and aggressive seat sales, have fostered a culture of spontaneous “Seoul weekends.” Many of these trips revolve around specific cultural experiences: a museum exhibition, a K pop comeback, or a seasonal food trend that goes viral on Japanese social media. Reservations data show that when headline events align with public holidays, ANA’s Tokyo Seoul services can fill within days of tickets going on sale.
Across all three airlines, the common thread is the extent to which Seoul’s cultural exports now drive travel decisions. Where business demand once dominated premium cabins, carriers now report a more balanced mix of corporate travelers, tourists, and a sizable cohort of creative industry professionals who shuttle frequently between the entertainment hubs of Los Angeles, Tokyo, Taipei, and Seoul.
Hyatt and Four Seasons: Sold Out Signs in Central Seoul
On the ground, few indicators capture the scale of the tourism surge as clearly as hotel occupancy numbers. Luxury and upper upscale properties clustered around Jongno, Gwanghwamun, and neighboring business districts are reporting some of their tightest availability in years. Hyatt affiliated hotels in central Seoul, including flagship properties that overlook the city’s historic core, have seen stretches of full occupancy during major holidays, concert weeks, and large scale fan conventions. Travelers who once expected to find last minute rooms now discover “sold out” notices across multiple dates.
The same pattern holds at the Four Seasons Seoul, located a short walk from Gwanghwamun Gate and the government quarter. With a guest mix that ranges from business leaders and diplomats to celebrities and high net worth leisure travelers, the property sits at the intersection of official Seoul and the K culture boom. Front desk staff report that during peak periods connected to major concerts or high profile fashion events, blocks of rooms can be snapped up by international visitors months ahead, pushing independent travelers to shift their stays to shoulder dates or alternative neighborhoods.
This pressure is cascading down the market. Midscale chains, boutique guesthouses in renovated hanok, and budget friendly hotels in adjacent districts such as Jongno 3 ga and Euljiro have all seen surging demand. For many visitors from the United States and Europe, price sensitivity is less of an issue than location and the promise of an “immersive” stay close to filming sites and traditional streets. That willingness to pay a premium for proximity to Jongno’s attractions has attracted the attention of global investors, with real estate and asset management firms actively scouting for hotel acquisition and conversion opportunities in central Seoul.
Local analysts note that the supply of hotel rooms in the capital still lags behind pre pandemic levels, even as international arrivals approach or exceed those benchmarks. Until new inventory comes online, travelers eyeing Jongno centric itineraries are being advised to book well ahead, especially when planning travel during cherry blossom season, autumn foliage, and major K pop tour stops.
U.S., Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese Travelers Converge in One Neighborhood
What makes Jongno’s recent transformation particularly striking is the diversity of its visitors. On any given afternoon, the crowds flowing past Insadong’s calligraphy shops and tea houses are a mix of English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Taiwanese Mandarin speakers, joined by Korean domestic tourists who come to rediscover their own heritage through a new lens. Each group arrives with slightly different expectations, but their paths inevitably converge in the same narrow streets and courtyard cafes.
For American travelers, especially those on their first trip to Asia, Jongno is often positioned as a crash course in Korean history paired with highly Instagrammable backdrops. Walking tours emphasize palace architecture, independence era history, and modern protest culture at Gwanghwamun Square, before transitioning into food tastings at traditional markets and dessert cafes. Visitors from China tend to be more familiar with Korean trends through long standing media exchange, focusing their stays on shopping for cosmetics, fashion, and electronics while weaving in visits to popular shooting locations for dramas and reality shows.
Japanese tourists, many of whom can recall earlier phases of K culture enthusiasm, often travel as repeat visitors with more specialized itineraries. Some focus on traditional arts, booking workshops in ceramics and calligraphy in Jongno’s side streets, while others are drawn to live performances and limited time exhibitions tied to K pop idols. Taiwanese travelers, adept at hopping around regional capitals on low cost carriers, frequently stitch Seoul into broader multi city circuits that include Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. For them, Jongno offers a contrasting urban texture: lower skylines, dense alleyways, and a sense of being in the “set” of a favorite music video or drama.
The net effect is a layered cultural exchange that plays out in real time. Local shop owners swap languages effortlessly, menu boards display prices in multiple currencies, and ad hoc queues form as visitors from four different countries wait for the same trending snack they saw online. For a district that once catered primarily to domestic day trippers and office workers, the new international buzz has been transformative.
Overtourism Challenges and How Seoul Is Responding
With success have come growing pains. Residents of Bukchon and other heritage areas in Jongno have voiced concerns about noise, litter, and the erosion of everyday privacy as wave after wave of visitors arrives armed with cameras and content ambitions. In response, local government and community groups have rolled out a series of measures designed to manage foot traffic while keeping the district open and welcoming. These include clearly posted visiting hours for sensitive residential lanes, multilingual signage asking visitors to lower their voices and refrain from filming private homes, and volunteer guides who gently redirect tour groups away from bottlenecked corners.
Authorities are also experimenting with digital tools. Some hanok streets now feature QR codes that direct visitors to online guides, reducing the need for large tour groups to cluster around a single leader. Apps developed in partnership with tourism boards encourage travelers to explore less crowded attractions within Jongno, spreading the load to museums, galleries, and modern cultural complexes that can handle higher visitor volumes. By nudging travelers toward a wider range of sites, Seoul hopes to protect fragile heritage zones without diminishing the overall appeal of the district.
Business owners, for their part, are grappling with how to capitalize on increased demand without losing the local character that drew visitors in the first place. Some long established teahouses and craft studios have resisted the temptation to pivot entirely to tourist friendly themes, instead maintaining traditional menus and workshop formats while offering limited English and Japanese explanations. Others have embraced the K culture wave more wholeheartedly, incorporating contemporary design, curated playlists, and social media ready interiors that appeal to international guests. The coexistence of these approaches is part of Jongno’s evolving identity as both a neighborhood and a global attraction.
Ultimately, the question facing Seoul is whether it can sustain the current pace of growth without alienating residents or diluting the authenticity that underpins its new soft power. City planners are watching closely, using Jongno as a test case for how to manage tourism that is driven less by price and more by the emotional pull of culture and storytelling.
What the K Culture Craze Means for Future Travel
The rush of visitors into Jongno is more than a seasonal spike; it is a sign of how K culture has rewired global travel aspirations. Where travelers once used city breaks in Asia primarily for shopping and sightseeing, many now plan entire itineraries around specific cultural touchpoints: a café that appears in a favorite drama, a mural from a music video, a museum exhibition curated by a pop icon, or a food stall praised by a celebrity chef on a variety show. Seoul’s ability to deliver those moments at high density in a walkable historic district gives it a competitive edge over regional rivals.
Industry observers expect this pattern to deepen over the next several years. As streaming platforms push more Korean content into homes from Dallas to Dalian, and as social media continues to amplify trends at lightning speed, the pipeline of first time and repeat visitors to Seoul looks robust. Airlines like Delta, Asiana, and ANA will likely continue to refine schedules and capacity to capture that demand, while hotel brands from Hyatt to independent hanok stays race to position themselves within easy reach of Jongno’s most coveted alleys.
For travelers from the United States, China, Japan, and Taiwan, the message is clear: planning ahead is becoming essential. Those who secure flights and rooms early will still find moments of tranquility in palace gardens at opening time, quiet corners in traditional tea houses, and night views from hilltop pavilions that feel removed from the crowds. Yet even as visitor numbers climb, the core appeal of Jongno remains rooted in its ability to connect centuries of history with the hyper modern energy of today’s K culture. That combination is precisely what keeps flights full, hotels sold out, and travelers returning again and again to the heart of Seoul.
As Seoul’s Jongno district continues to shoulder the weight of this global fascination, it offers a glimpse of the future of urban tourism: cities that are not just backdrops for vacations, but active characters in the stories people consume and then seek to experience in person. For now, the lights of late night cafes, the hum of multiple languages, and the shuffle of rolling suitcases along age worn stone streets suggest that the K culture craze shows no sign of fading. Instead, it is settling in for a long run, with Jongno at center stage.