Korea · Trade partner
Korea’s trade with the United States
Over the twelve months to June 2026, Korea ran a trade surplus with the United States.The United States is Korea’s 2nd-largest export market and its 2nd-largest source of imports.
| Balance direction | Korea sells more than it buys (surplus) |
|---|---|
| Share of Korea’s exports | 17.7% |
| Share of Korea’s imports | 11.9% |
| Rank as an export market | 2nd of 243 |
| Rank as an import source | 2nd of 243 |
| Rank by total trade | 2nd of 243 |
What this says
United States matters more to Korea as a customer than as a supplier: it takes a larger share of what Korea sells than it provides of what Korea buys.A trade surplus is not, by itself, good or bad — a surplus with a partner is simply what buying or selling more from that partner looks like.
Why there are shares here, not dollar totals
We report the United States’s share of Korea’s trade and its rank, not a dollar figure. The underlying Korea Customs dataset has a scale break from March 2026 that makes the absolute monthly dollar totals unreliable after that month. Within-month shares are stable across that break, so those are what we publish. Here is why we do not trust the 2026 dollar totals.
The underlying data
These figures come from one dataset — Korea Customs Service exports and imports by partner country, month by month. We publish it as a structured trade dataset you can license, with a free monthly CSV to reproduce with credit. See the whole picture in Korea’s trade balance, in one page.
Data as of 2026-08-20 20:09:33. Korea Customs Service via KOSIS. Shares and ranks only — not investment advice.
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