Korea saw the number of foreign visitors to the country hit 20 million Thursday, nearing its 2026 target of 23 million tourists. It is a monumental figure, considering that Korea first saw 10 million international visitors in 2014. Koreans can easily feel the growing range and presence of foreign visitors not only in the swanky shops of Myeong-dong, Gangnam and Seongsu-dong, but also at local pharmacies, traditional markets and big box stores. It's also not limited to the capital city — the southeastern port city of Busan is expecting its annual number of foreigner visitors to stand at around 5 million, Gangwon Province in the northeast beckons with its beaches and mountains and, of course, the traditional holiday spot of Jeju remains popular with international and domestic travelers. International visitors bring a fresh injection of diversity, curiosity and revenue. Statistics show that overseas tourists spent $12 billion in the first nine months of the year — an increase of 47.7 percent over the same period the previous year. Yonhap reported that commercial vacancies in major nei