Nonstop flight route between Seoul, South Korea and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gimpo International Airport (SEL), Seoul, South Korea and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,719 miles (or 9,203 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Gimpo International Airport and Merced Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Gimpo International Airport and Merced Regional Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gimpo International Airport (SEL):

• Because of Gimpo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Gimpo International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Kimpo.
• Gimpo International Airport (SEL) has 2 runways.
• UN Forces resumed the offensive again in late January 1951 and launched Operation Thunderbolt on 25 January with the aim of pushing Chinese and North Korean forces back north of the Han River.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Gimpo International Airport (GMP), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SEL.
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Gimpo International Airport (meaning Gimpo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for SEL include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港", "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang", "GMP" and "RKSS".
• The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board has its FDR/CVR Analysis and Wreckage Laboratory on the property of Gimpo International Airport.
• In 1958 Kimpo was designated as the international airport of the South Korean capital city and has grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• Bus connections to Yosemite National Park are available through the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System.
• On March 15, 1932 the Merced City Council accepted the title to the site of an airport as a gift from the Twenty-Thirty Club and the Crocker-Huffman Company.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• During the 1950s the airport was used to service United States Armed Forces aircraft, and a land acquisition in February 1955 allowed runway 12/30 to be extended.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• In 1946 United Airlines built offices and a terminal building and began one Douglas DC-3 flight each way a day.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• United's DC-3s were replaced by Convair 340s and Douglas DC-6s, and eventually by Boeing 737-200 jetliners in 1968-69.