---
title: "Seattle to Seoul (SEA → ICN): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Seattle to Seoul is 8,373 km (5,203 mi) great circle, an estimated 10h 54m 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/sea-to-icn
---

SEA → ICN

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

Seattle–Tacoma to Incheon is 8,373 km of great circle — 5,203 mi — and an estimated 10h 54m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
8,373 km
5,203 mi

**Estimated in the air**
10h 54m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
58.9°N
at 41% along

**One lap of Earth**
20.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 75th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Seattle the path crosses Canada, then 1,737 km of open water, then the United States, then 2,428 km of open water, then Russia, then 942 km of open water, then Russia, then 607 km of open water, then South Korea.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 58.9°N, 41% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 9,162 km. That is 789 km further, about 9% more, and roughly 59m of extra flying.

Leaving Seattle the aircraft points north-west (310°); it arrives into Seoul heading south-west (221°). That is 89° 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 1.19 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

SEA

## Seattle–Tacoma

Seattle, United States · North America

47.4°N, 122.3°W

[SEA airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sea) [Flights to Seattle →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/seattle)

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)

## Seattle to Seoul, asked and answered

**How far is Seattle to Seoul?**
Seattle to Seoul (SEA to ICN) is 8,373 km, or 5,203 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Seattle to Seoul?**
About 10h 54m 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 Seattle to Seoul flight take?**
The great circle passes over Canada, then 1,737 km of open water, then the United States, then 2,428 km of open water, then Russia, then 942 km of open water, then Russia, then 607 km of open water, then South Korea. It reaches 58.9°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

[LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [SEA → HND Seattle to Tokyo 7,711 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sea-to-hnd) [LHR → SEA London to Seattle 7,702 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sea) [SFO → ICN San Francisco to Seoul 9,085 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-icn) [LAX → ICN Los Angeles to Seoul 9,625 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-icn) [HEL → ICN Helsinki to Seoul 7,032 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/hel-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/sea-to-icn for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt