Exports in South Korea increased to 59800 USD Million in June from 57270 USD Million in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - South Korea Exports - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

South Korea's total Exports in 2024 were valued at US$683.13 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. South Korea's main export partners were: China, the United States and Vietnam. The top three export commodities were: Electrical, electronic equipment; Vehicles other than railway, tramway and Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers. Total Imports were valued at US$631.73 Billion. In 2024, South Korea had a trade surplus of US$51.40 Billion.

The statistic shows the value of exports of goods from South Korea from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, goods with a value of around ****** billion U.S. dollars were exported from South Korea. South Korea's exports The quantity of exports from South Korea has been rising over the past 10 years, with a slight dip in 2009, at the time of the economic crisis. South Korea is one of the leading exporters of cars and electronic goods. Both Hyundai and Samsung are South Korean corporate heavyweights and hold large market shares in their respective segments. However, since 2011 it can be seen that the rise of the value of South Korean exports has slowed. This is likely due to the value of the country's currency, the won, rising higher than the Japanese Yen, making Korean goods less competitive on the global market. Petroleum products are also an important South Korean export, and falling global oil and gas prices are likely to have been a contributor to lower-than-expected export values as well. However, Korea is also looking to reduce its dependence on exports and focus on developing its domestic service sector instead, in order to sustain long-term economic growth. However, the distribution of the sectors' share in GDP generation has remained nearly the same for the past 10 years. While the country is also experiencing greatly reduced levels of growth compared to 2010, when GDP growth reached *** percent, the country is hoping to improve growth rates in the future.

Key information about South Korea Total Exports

• South Korea Total Exports recorded 61.0 USD bn in Nov 2025, compared with 59.5 USD bn in the previous month
• South Korea Total Exports data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1966 to Nov 2025, with an averaged value of 11.8 USD bn
• The data reached an all-time high of 65.9 USD bn in Sep 2025 and a record low of 14.8 USD mn in Jan 1966

• In the latest reports, South Korea Total Exports grew 8.4 % YoY in Nov 2025
• Total Imports recorded 51.3 USD bn in Nov 2025, which registered an increase of 1.2 % year on year
• South Korea Trade Balance recorded a surplus of 9.7 USD bn in Nov 2025

In 2024, the export value of electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof from South Korea measured approximately *** billion U.S. dollars. During that year, the total export value was recorded at around ***** billion dollars.

Key information about South Korea Total Exports to China

• South Korea Total Exports to China recorded 9.511 USD bn in Feb 2025, compared with 9.202 USD bn in the previous month
• South Korea Total Exports to China data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1988 to Feb 2025, with an averaged value of 5.551 USD bn
• The data reached an all-time high of 15.642 USD bn in Mar 2022 and a record low of 18.959 USD mn in Jan 1988

Exports YoY in South Korea increased to 8.40 percent in November from 3.50 percent in October of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for South Korea Exports YoY.

In 2025, the export value of mobile handsets from South Korea is forecasted to reach approximately ***** billion U.S. dollars. The expected value is higher than the forecast from the previous year.

The share of exports in the gross domestic product (GDP) in South Korea stood at 44 percent in 2023. Between 1960 and 2023, the share rose by 41.36 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

In 2024, the value of beauty, make-up and skin care preparations exported from South Korea was the highest for China, valued at around 2.16 billion U.S. dollars. Despite having successful domestic beauty markets in C-beauty and J-beauty, China and Japan made up two of the three leading export destinations for K-beauty. The United States placed between them, with an export value of almost 1.55 trillion dollars. K-beauty popularity boom South Korean beauty products have gained great popularity during the last years and, with that, a large consumer base. At this point, K-beauty receives praise not only by experts and consumers in South Korea but also by users globally. Thanks to Hallyu, the Korean wave, various Korean content, such as K-pop and K-dramas, have become somewhat mainstream. Additionally, social media beauty influencers have done a great deal to popularize Korean skin care and make-up products to audiences all over the world. The greatest factor for this positive perception lies in the perceived efficacy of South Korean beauty, especially for its comparably low price point. What are the most exported K-beauty products? Skin care is the base of Korean beauty. South Koreans believe that taking care of the skin first is more important to a flawless appearance and youthful look than applying make-up. This emphasis on skin care is also apparent in beauty exports as skin care recorded strong exports from South Korea throughout the years. In fact, skin care alone made up more than half of all Korean beauty exports.

South Korea Exports: Europe: EU (28) data was reported at 6,768,024.000 USD th in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,686,513.000 USD th for Feb 2025. South Korea Exports: Europe: EU (28) data is updated monthly, averaging 4,219,918.000 USD th from Jan 2000 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 303 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,944,221.000 USD th in Mar 2022 and a record low of 1,587,088.000 USD th in Jul 2001. South Korea Exports: Europe: EU (28) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea Customs Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Korea – Table KR.JA007: Trade Statistics: Export: Value: by Country. Figures represent the trade statistics of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, regardless of their entry or exit dates in the European Union.

South Korea Exports to United States was US$128.37 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. South Korea Exports to United States - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on December of 2025.

In 2023, the export value of the content industry totaled around ***** billion U.S. dollars. This represents an increase from the previous years, as well as the highest recorded export value. Between 2014 and 2023, the total export value of South Korean content increased by over *** percent.

Korea Exports: General Export data was reported at 32.171 USD bn in Nov 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 33.829 USD bn for Oct 2018. Korea Exports: General Export data is updated monthly, averaging 23.491 USD bn from Jan 2000 (Median) to Nov 2018, with 227 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.973 USD bn in Apr 2014 and a record low of 7.991 USD bn in Feb 2002. Korea Exports: General Export data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea Customs Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Korea – Table KR.JA037: Trade Statistics: Exports and Imports: By Type.

China Exports to South Korea was US$146.23 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. China Exports to South Korea - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on October of 2025.

In 2024, South Korea's exports and imports of goods and services as a share of the country's GDP stood at almost **** percent. This was up from about **** percent of GDP in the previous year. After the Korean War (1950-1953), South Korea developed into an export-oriented country, which was, among other things, an important factor for the country's economic growth. South Korea's share of imports and exports in its GDP is relatively high compared to other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

As of fist half of 2025, around **** million passenger cars were exported from South Korea, showing a modest increase compared to the previous year. The South Korean automotive industry has long been a key indicator of the country's economic growth, experiencing rapid expansion over the decades. As an export-driven manufacturing economy, a significant portion of the cars produced domestically were intended for overseas markets. However, exports have been on the decline in recent years.South Korea's export share and automobile exportsRecently, the share of South Korea's total exports in the economy had been gradually recovering, while automobile exports were also steadily rising. In particular, the export volume of vehicles, including passenger and commercial cars, had been on the rise in recent years. This increase in vehicle exports positively impacted the country’s overall export growth.  A growing preference for imported carsThe share of imported cars steadily increased in recent years. Nevertheless, domestic brands still made up the majority of registered vehicles in South Korea. Among foreign automakers, BMW and Mercedes-Benz held the largest market share. This showed a growing preference for foreign car brands among South Korean consumers. 

Korea Exports: Mfg Good: Iron and Steel: Taiwan data was reported at 54.737 USD mn in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 47.319 USD mn for Sep 2018. Korea Exports: Mfg Good: Iron and Steel: Taiwan data is updated monthly, averaging 32.846 USD mn from Jan 1991 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 334 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 132.539 USD mn in Apr 2008 and a record low of 4.814 USD mn in Feb 1991. Korea Exports: Mfg Good: Iron and Steel: Taiwan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea International Trade Association. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Korea – Table KR.WA006: Exports and Imports: by Country.

United States Exports to South Korea was US$65.54 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United States Exports to South Korea - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on December of 2025.

Peru Exports: South Korea data was reported at 2.452 USD bn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.144 USD bn for 2017. Peru Exports: South Korea data is updated yearly, averaging 1.394 USD bn from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2018, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.452 USD bn in 2018 and a record low of 1.087 USD bn in 2015. Peru Exports: South Korea data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Foreign Trade & Tourism. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Peru – Table PE.JA014: Exports: South Korea.