The two nationalities make up almost 54 percent of the country’s total international arrivals. Image: Ivan-Herman.net

Chinese visitors into South Korea picked up late last year, while Japanese arrivals fell by almost a quarter.

According to a Korean Tourism Organisation report, the two nationalities make up almost 54 percent of the country’s total international arrivals and are vital for China’s economy, particularly the country’s travel retail industry, The Moody Report reported.

During November last year, Chinese visitors increased by 17.4 percent year-on-year to 204.533, as Japanese arrivals fell 24.8 percent year-on-year to 249,481.

Despite the dip in visitors year-on-year from Japan, November was the first in 11 months to see an increase from the market of 10.1 percent.