---
title: "Los Angeles to Seoul (LAX → ICN): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Los Angeles to Seoul is 9,625 km (5,981 mi) great circle, an estimated 12h 28m 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/lax-to-icn
---

LAX → ICN

# Los Angeles to Seoul: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Los Angeles to Incheon is 9,625 km of great circle — 5,981 mi — and an estimated 12h 28m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
9,625 km
5,981 mi

**Estimated in the air**
12h 28m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
53.3°N
at 53% along

**One lap of Earth**
24.0%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 48th longest.

The Los Angeles to Seoul route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Los Angeles the path crosses the United States, then 8,952 km of open water, then South Korea.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 53.3°N, 53% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,400 km. That is 775 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 58m of extra flying.

Leaving Los Angeles the aircraft points north-west (314°); it arrives into Seoul heading south-west (229°). That is 85° 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 1.36 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

LAX

## Los Angeles

Los Angeles, United States · North America

33.9°N, 118.4°W

[LAX airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lax) [Flights to Los Angeles →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/los-angeles)

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)

## Los Angeles to Seoul, asked and answered

**How far is Los Angeles to Seoul?**
Los Angeles to Seoul (LAX to ICN) is 9,625 km, or 5,981 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Seoul?**
About 12h 28m 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 Los Angeles to Seoul flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then 8,952 km of open water, then South Korea. It reaches 53.3°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

[FRA → LAX Frankfurt to Los Angeles 9,322 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-lax) [LAX → PEK Los Angeles to Beijing 10,037 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-pek) [CDG → LAX Paris to Los Angeles 9,103 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-lax) [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) [LAX → PVG Los Angeles to Shanghai 10,415 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-pvg)

## 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/lax-to-icn for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt