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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Gimpo International Airport (GMP), Seoul, South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,627 miles (or 9,056 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 San Francisco International Airport and Gimpo International 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 San Francisco International Airport and Gimpo International 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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• The FAA has warned that the airport's control tower would be unable to withstand a major earthquake and has requested that it be replaced.
• Terminal 2, formerly known as the "Central Terminal," opened in 1954 as the main airport terminal.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• AirTrain is the airport's people-mover system.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.

Facts about Gimpo International Airport (GMP):

• On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Kimpo.
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• Gimpo International Airport (GMP) has 2 runways.
• The airport is located south of the Han River in western Seoul.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (GMP) is Gimpo International Airport (SEL), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of GMP.
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (GMP) 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.
• Kimpo was captured by the KPA shortly after the capture of Seoul on 28 June 1950.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for GMP include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港" and "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang".
• 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.