Seoul: Both domestic and overseas travel recovered to pre-pandemic levels last year, with the proportion of outbound travelers reaching a record high, data showed Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics revealed that 70.2 percent of South Koreans aged 13 and older took at least one domestic trip in 2025, an increase from 66.7 percent recorded two years earlier. The rate had previously reached 69.2 percent in 2019 before dropping to 39.8 percent in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proportion of individuals traveling abroad in 2025 surged to 31.5 percent, nearly doubling the 15.1 percent recorded two years prior, setting a new record. In 2019, the figure stood at 30.4 percent before experiencing a sharp decline to 1.1 percent in 2021.

The findings are part of an annual report that includes 270 indicators across 12 sectors, aimed at providing a comprehensive examination of social conditions in South Korea. However, travel-related data is only available biennially.