South Korea is welcoming record-breaking cruise passenger volumes, according to Lee Jong-Geun, deputy director of the Marine Leisure Tourism Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

With projections for 2026 already exceeding 1.8 million guests and 952 calls, the country is nearly doubling its numbers year over year.

“That number was based on our previous estimates, but we are getting even more cruise call requests, so I think the final figure will be even larger than that,” Lee told Cruise Industry News during an exclusive interview.

In 2025, South Korea welcomed slightly more than 1 million guests and 588 calls, surging from just 260,000 passengers and 154 calls in 2019.

He said the recent growth has been driven by two primary factors: the influence of K-pop and K-culture around the globe, as well as the shifting geopolitical dynamics in the region.

Ongoing diplomatic friction between China and Japan has prompted several major cruise operators to reroute their vessels to Korean destinations, he said.

To handle this new traffic, the government is investing in infrastructure and regulatory enhancements, Lee continued, with a focus on operational policies.

“We were getting feedback from different cruise lines that the immigration clearance was difficult to complete,” he explained.

The country then introduced a new framework that allows the clearance process to be completed onboard the ships, in addition to a waiver that eliminates the need for secondary permissions when ships make consecutive stops at different Korean ports, he added.

The largest cruise ports in the country are Jeju and Busan, which welcomed 322 and 208 calls in 2025, respectively.

Lee said that, while infrastructure work is a long-term investment, several projects are currently underway.

A major expansion of the Busan cruise terminal is slated for completion by year-end and will accommodate increased call volume.

As part of a pilot program, the government is also expanding the operating hours of cruise terminals, allowing cruise ships to offer overnight calls at the port, Lee said.

Looking ahead, the government is also planning to build a new three-story cruise terminal in Busan by 2030.

“Last year we also introduced two new cruise ports in Korea, as part of our efforts to diversify the cruise product and experience for international passengers,” he said.

Lee acknowledged that 50 to 60 percent of the country’s cruise passengers currently originate from China, leaving the industry vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions.

The country is pushing to diversify its source markets while changing traditional operational patterns.

He said that the vast majority of vessels currently sailing to the destination call at a single marquee port, such as Busan, Jeju or Incheon.

“Cruise tourism itself should be contributing more to the local economy,” Lee explained, noting that this single-stop model limits the financial impact for local communities.

“That’s why we are trying to offer more options and ports, also pushing for more expeditions or luxury ships to operate at these new locations and diversify their cruise products.”

With the recent debut of Masan and Saemangeum as cruise call destinations, South Korea now offers nine destinations for cruise ships.

Lee said that the ministry’s five-year vision is also to establish the country as a regional hub in Asia, with cruise lines using its ports for turnaround operations.