---
title: "New York to Seoul (JFK → ICN): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "New York to Seoul is 11,089 km (6,890 mi) great circle, an estimated 14h 17m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-icn
---

JFK → ICN

# New York to Seoul: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

John F. Kennedy to Incheon is 11,089 km of great circle — 6,890 mi — and an estimated 14h 17m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
11,089 km
6,890 mi

**Estimated in the air**
14h 17m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
77.8°N
at 48% along

**One lap of Earth**
27.7%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 29th longest.

The New York to Seoul route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From New York the path crosses the United States, then Canada, then 1,497 km of open water, then Canada, then 2,939 km of open water, then Russia, then China, then North Korea.

The great circle reaches 77.8°N, inside the Arctic circle — which is why the route looks like a detour over the top of the world on a flat map, and like the obvious line on a globe.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 13,796 km. That is 2,707 km further, about 24% more, and roughly 3h 22m of extra flying.

Leaving New York the aircraft points north (344°); it arrives into Seoul heading south (195°). That is 148° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 1.57 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[JFK–ICN carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=JFK&to=ICN) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=JFK-ICN)

From

JFK

## John F. Kennedy

New York, United States · North America

40.6°N, 73.8°W

[JFK airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/jfk) [Flights to New York →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/new-york)

To

ICN

## Incheon

Seoul, South Korea · Asia

37.5°N, 126.5°E

[ICN airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/icn) [Flights to Seoul →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/seoul)

## New York to Seoul, asked and answered

**How far is New York to Seoul?**
New York to Seoul (JFK to ICN) is 11,089 km, or 6,890 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from New York to Seoul?**
About 14h 17m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.

**What route does a New York to Seoul flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then Canada, then 1,497 km of open water, then Canada, then 2,939 km of open water, then Russia, then China, then North Korea. It reaches 77.8°N at its furthest from the equator.

## Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

[Why the shortest path is a curve →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[JFK → NRT New York to Tokyo 10,830 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-nrt) [LAX → ICN Los Angeles to Seoul 9,625 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-icn) [JFK → HKG New York to Hong Kong 12,970 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-hkg) [HKG → JFK Hong Kong to New York 12,970 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/hkg-to-jfk) [SFO → ICN San Francisco to Seoul 9,085 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-icn) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

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Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-icn for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt