- Great circle
- 9,085 km
- 5,645 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 11h 47m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 53.7°N
- at 50% along
- One lap of Earth
- 22.7%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 60th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From San Francisco the path crosses 8,722 km of open water, then South Korea.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 53.7°N, 50% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 9,802 km. That is 716 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 53m of extra flying.
Leaving San Francisco the aircraft points north-west (312°); it arrives into Seoul heading south-west (228°). That is 83° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
SFO
San Francisco
San Francisco, United States · North America
37.6°N, 122.4°W
San Francisco to Seoul, asked and answered
- How far is San Francisco to Seoul?
- San Francisco to Seoul (SFO to ICN) is 9,085 km, or 5,645 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from San Francisco to Seoul?
- About 11h 47m 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 San Francisco to Seoul flight take?
- The great circle passes over 8,722 km of open water, then South Korea. It reaches 53.7°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.
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