S. Korea's outbound travel drops 10 pct in 2008

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Koreans who traveled overseas fell
by nearly 10 percent last year due to a tumbling local currency, the government
said Monday.

Outbound travelers numbered 12.3 million in 2008, compared with 13.6 million a
year ago, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Hit by the U.S.-sparked global financial crisis, the Korean won plunged 25.7
percent to the dollar last year alone, becoming one of the world's
worst-performing currencies.
"The economic downswing coupled with the won's depreciation seems to have
affected overseas departures," the ministry said.
The central bank reported last week that Koreans' average spending on overseas
study fell 51.5 percent on-year to US$167.7 million in November 2008, marking the
largest on-year fall since January 1998.
The number of foreigners that arrived in South Korea, however, climbed 6.2
percent from a year ago to 6.82 million. Travelers from Japan accounted for 40
percent of all foreigners that arrived last year, followed by those from China
and the U.S., with 17.2 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.
The number of foreign students residing in South Korea also climbed 28 percent to
71,531, up from 56,006 in 2007, the ministry said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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