Chicago to Seoul Flights (ORD to ICN): Nonstops, Flight Time and Getting into the City

Nonstop flights exist, and they are the way to go

Chicago O'Hare to Seoul Incheon is served nonstop. As of recent schedules, Korean Air flies the route daily, and Asiana Airlines, now part of the Korean Air group, has also operated its own nonstop. Both are full-service carriers with a reputation for good economy catering and generous baggage rules, and both time their departures so you arrive in Korea in the late afternoon or evening.

One-stop alternatives are plentiful and sometimes cheaper. United connects through San Francisco, where it has its own Seoul flight, and through Tokyo with ANA. Japan Airlines and American route you via Tokyo as well. Air Canada connects through Toronto or Vancouver, and Delta, which is Korean Air's closest partner, sells itineraries through Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta or Seattle onto its own Incheon flights. A connection adds three to six hours, so check how much you are actually saving.

Flight time and distance, both directions

The great-circle distance between Chicago and Seoul is roughly 6,540 miles (about 10,500 km). Westbound, the nonstop typically takes 14 to 15 hours in the air, flying a polar route across Alaska and down past Japan against prevailing winds. The return from Incheon to O'Hare is shorter, usually 13 to 14 hours.

You cross the International Date Line heading west, so a Monday departure from Chicago lands in Seoul on Tuesday. On the way home you arrive in Chicago on the same calendar day you left Seoul, often in the morning or early afternoon, which gives you most of a day to get home and settle in.

Leaving from O'Hare

Korean Air and Asiana depart from Terminal 5, O'Hare's international terminal. It sits apart from the domestic terminals, so if you are connecting from a domestic flight on another airline you will take the Airport Transit System train or a shuttle bus to reach it, and you will clear security again. Allow at least two to two and a half hours for that connection, more if you have to collect and re-check bags because your tickets are separate.

If you are starting in Chicago, the CTA Blue Line is the cheapest way to the airport; the station is below the domestic terminals, and from there you ride the ATS to Terminal 5. The ride from downtown is about 45 minutes. Taxis and rideshares from the Loop take 30 to 60 minutes depending on the Kennedy Expressway, and the Metra North Central line reaches an O'Hare transfer station on weekdays. Arriving three hours before a long-haul departure at Terminal 5 is reasonable, because check-in queues for Asian flights bunch up in the early afternoon.

Arriving at Incheon and getting into Seoul

Incheon has two terminals about 15 minutes apart by shuttle train or bus. Korean Air and its SkyTeam partners, including Delta, use Terminal 2. Asiana and most other airlines use Terminal 1. Check your terminal before you fly, especially for the return, because the two have separate check-in halls and arriving at the wrong one costs time.

The airport sits on an island about 50 km west of central Seoul. Your options into the city:

• AREX express train: nonstop to Seoul Station in about 45 minutes, with reserved seats and luggage racks. Both terminals have a station.
• AREX all-stop train: cheaper and slower, about an hour, useful if you are heading to Hongdae, Gimpo or Digital Media City.
• Airport limousine buses: run to most districts and many major hotels in 60 to 90 minutes, and they are the easiest option with heavy bags or a late arrival.
• Taxi: 50 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. Use the official ranks and expect a surcharge late at night.

If you arrive late, note that the last trains leave before midnight. Buses run later, and there are transit hotels in the terminals if you are connecting onward within Korea the next morning.

Entry requirements and documents

US passport holders can visit South Korea for short tourist stays without a visa, but Korea introduced an electronic travel authorisation, the K-ETA, and has waived it for some nationalities for set periods. Check the official K-ETA site before you book to see whether you need to apply. Your passport should be valid for your whole stay, and you fill in an arrival card on the plane or online in advance.

Korea has strict rules on bringing in meat, fruit and some medications, and customs fines for undeclared food are real. Declare anything you are unsure about.

Best time to fly and when to book

Autumn, from late September through early November, is the best season in Seoul: clear skies, cool days and fall colour in the palaces and mountains. Spring is also good, with cherry blossoms in early April. Summer brings the monsoon rains from late June to July, followed by heat and humidity into August. Winter is cold and dry, and the cheapest time to fly outside the holidays.

Korean holidays drive fares. Chuseok in September or October and Lunar New Year in January or February fill flights with families, and fares from Chicago rise months in advance. Chicago's own peaks matter too: summer school holidays and the Christmas period push up prices on the nonstops. Outside those windows, booking six to ten weeks ahead is normally enough; for the peaks, think three to five months.

Time zones and jet lag

Seoul is 14 hours ahead of Chicago during Central Daylight Time and 15 hours ahead in winter, because Korea does not observe daylight saving time. Westbound jet lag is manageable: you land in the evening, go to bed a couple of hours later and wake up roughly on local time, though most people feel groggy for two or three days.

The return is tougher because your body thinks it is late evening when you land in Chicago in daylight. Stay outside, eat at local times and skip the afternoon nap on the first day.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The most common mistake is treating a one-stop fare through Tokyo or San Francisco as a bargain without adding up the extra hours and the second security line. The second is heading to the wrong Incheon terminal for the return flight, which costs 20 to 30 minutes on the shuttle. The third is skipping the K-ETA check and finding out at O'Hare check-in that an authorisation was needed. None of these is a disaster, but each is easy to avoid with a few minutes of checking before you leave.