Aviation History
Modern Korean aviation began with Korean National Airlines, founded in 1946 shortly after Korea's division, which operated the country's first domestic and international routes. The airline was nationalised in 1962 as Korean Air Lines, then acquired by the Hanjin Group in 1969 and rebranded Korean Air, growing into a major international carrier through the 1970s and 1980s. Korean Air's history includes major tragedies, notably the 1983 Soviet shootdown of Flight 007 and the 1997 crash of Flight 801 in Guam. South Korea's aviation sector diversified in 1988 with the founding of Asiana Airlines, ending Korean Air's long monopoly, and expanded further in the 2000s-2010s with low-cost carriers such as Jeju Air, Jin Air and T'way Air. In the 2020s, Korean Air pursued a landmark acquisition of Asiana, with the two carriers set to fully merge into a single brand by the end of 2026.
Korean National Airlines was established shortly after Korea's division, operating the country's first domestic and international air routes.
The South Korean government acquired the carrier and renamed it Korean Air Lines.
The Hanjin conglomerate took over the state-owned carrier, launching the modern Korean Air enterprise.
Korean Air introduced Boeing 747 service on trans-Pacific routes and expanded to European destinations including Paris.
A Soviet interceptor shot down KAL Flight 007 after it strayed into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 aboard, an incident that spurred the US to open GPS to civilian use.
Asiana Airlines was established, ending Korean Air's decades-long monopoly on South Korean air travel.
A Korean Air 747 crashed on approach to Guam, killing 229 of 254 aboard, prompting major safety and training reforms at the airline.
Korean Air completed acquisition of a majority stake in Asiana Airlines after multi-country regulatory approval; the two brands are set to fully merge by December 2026.
Korean Air · Asiana Airlines · Jeju Air · Jin Air · T'way Air · Air Busan
Compiled from general public/encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia and aviation trade press including ch-aviation and Simple Flying); the Korean Air-Asiana merger was in progress as of mid-2026 with full brand integration targeted for December 2026, so its exact status should be verified for currency.
Aviation Firsts
Yeouido Airport — Seoul (1916): Built Oct 1916 (Imperial Japanese Army), became international in 1929; cited by a source titled 'Korea's First Airport Was on Yeouido.' Closed Feb 1971, site redeveloped into the Yeouido business district. · Wikipedia ↗
Gimpo International Airport — Seoul (1939): Airfield built 1939 as 'Keijo New Airfield' (Imperial Japanese Army base); redesignated an international airport by presidential decree 30 Jan 1958. Today Seoul's secondary airport (Incheon took over most international traffic in 2001), hub for Asiana and Korean Air. · Wikipedia ↗
Yeouido (1916) is the older site and is referenced in a source titled 'Korea's first airport,' but it has been closed since 1971. Gimpo (1939 airfield / 1958 international airport) is the oldest airport-site still actually operating.
Korean Air (1946): Lineage traces to Korean National Airlines (KNA), founded 1946; nationalized by the government in 1962 and renamed Korean Air Lines; privatized to Hanjin Group 1 Mar 1969; renamed 'Korean Air' 1 Mar 1984. Was the only airline operating in South Korea for most of 1946–1988. The source is internally inconsistent — its infobox gives 1962 as the founding date while the body text traces lineage to 1946 — flagged as tentative given that discrepancy rather than silently resolved. Currently absorbing Asiana Airlines (stake acquired Dec 2024, full merger planned 2027). · KE ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Swissport (Switzerland), 2005: Swissport entered the South Korean market in 2005 via a joint venture with local partner J.W. Kim (initially 59% Swissport-owned); it acquired the remaining 41% in 2021 to take full ownership. No source frames this explicitly as "the first" foreign GH entrant, but it is the earliest dated foreign GH market entry found for Korea. (best-documented candidate found — not source-confirmed as literally first.) · Metro Airport News ↗
Aviation Museums1
Fleet by Operator
Passengers by Operator
Annual Passenger Traffic by Airport
Airlines5
Live Air Traffic16 aircraft
Source: adsb.lol — community ADS-B network. Busiest of this country’s top 6 profiled airports by traffic right now, not a full national count.