St. Louis to Seoul Flights (STL to ICN): Connections, Flight Time and Getting into the City

One stop is the rule from St. Louis

No airline flies nonstop between St. Louis Lambert International and Seoul Incheon, so every itinerary connects once at a US hub with Korea service. The connection is the whole decision: it sets your total travel time, which airline flies the Pacific leg, and how early you leave St. Louis.

As of recent schedules, the hubs with Incheon nonstops that are easy to reach from St. Louis are Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis for Delta and Korean Air, Chicago O'Hare for Korean Air, Asiana and American's partners, Dallas/Fort Worth for American and Korean Air, and Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles for Delta, United, Korean Air and Asiana. Korean Air and Delta are joint-venture partners, so a Delta ticket from St. Louis often puts you on a Korean Air aircraft for the long leg, and the reverse is true for Korean Air tickets.

A single-airline ticket matters more than usual here. If your first leg is delayed and you miss the Pacific flight, an airline that sold you both segments rebooks you; two separate tickets leave you buying a new one.

Total travel time and distance

The great-circle distance between STL and ICN is roughly 6,600 miles, about 10,600 km. The transpacific leg from Atlanta, Chicago or Dallas takes 14 to 15.5 hours westbound; from Seattle or San Francisco it is 11 to 12 hours. Add a one to three hour domestic leg and the layover, and most itineraries total 17 to 21 hours from St. Louis to Seoul.

Eastbound the Pacific leg is one to two hours shorter with the jet stream behind you. You cross the International Date Line going west, so you leave St. Louis on one day and land in Seoul in the late afternoon or evening of the next day by the local calendar. Coming home, you can arrive in St. Louis on the same calendar day you left Seoul.

Departing from St. Louis Lambert

Lambert has two terminals that are not connected airside. Terminal 1 handles American, Delta, United and most other airlines; Terminal 2 is Southwest's. For a Seoul itinerary you will almost certainly leave from Terminal 1. A shuttle bus and the MetroLink light rail link the terminals, and MetroLink runs from downtown St. Louis to both terminal stations in about 35 to 45 minutes.

Security lines at Terminal 1 are longest in the early morning, which is also when most Seoul itineraries depart so that you reach the hub for a late-morning or midday Pacific flight. Arrive two hours ahead for the domestic first leg and check your bags through to ICN; confirm the tag at the counter, because a bag checked only to the hub is the most common way a connection goes wrong.

Arriving at Incheon and getting into Seoul

Incheon has two terminals. Terminal 2 handles Korean Air, Delta and the other SkyTeam airlines; Terminal 1 handles Asiana, United, American and most others. The terminals are 15 to 20 minutes apart by shuttle bus or train, so check which one your airline uses, particularly for the return flight. Immigration uses automated gates for registered travellers and staffed lanes for visitors, and queues are longest in the early evening when the US flights land.

Incheon is about 50 km west of central Seoul:

• AREX Express: a nonstop train from both terminals to Seoul Station in about 43 to 51 minutes depending on the terminal, with reserved seats. The fastest predictable option.
• AREX All-Stop: the same line with stops, taking roughly an hour to Seoul Station and connecting with the subway at Gimpo, Digital Media City and Hongik University.
• Airport limousine bus: direct to Myeongdong, Gangnam, Hongdae and other districts in 60 to 90 minutes, with luggage space. The easiest option if your hotel is on a route.
• Taxi: 60 to 80 minutes to the centre depending on traffic; use the official ranks and avoid unmarked cars.

A T-money card, bought at a convenience store in the terminal, works on the train, subway and buses and saves buying tickets each time.

When to fly and when to book

Seoul's best weather is in spring, from April to early June, and autumn, from late September to early November, when days are clear and mild. Summer is hot and humid with a rainy season in July; winter is cold and dry. Fares from the US are highest around the Korean New Year (Seollal), Chuseok in autumn, the US summer holidays and the Christmas period, when seats on the Pacific legs tighten.

Autumn foliage weekends and the cherry blossom week in early April fill hotels quickly. For those periods and for summer, book three to five months ahead; otherwise six to ten weeks is usually enough.

Entry requirements and documents

As of recent rules, US passport holders can visit South Korea for short tourist stays without a visa, and the government has temporarily exempted US citizens from the K-ETA electronic travel authorisation. That exemption has been extended more than once and could lapse, so check the official K-ETA website and the Korea Immigration Service before you book. Your passport should be valid for the whole stay.

Korea has also been moving its arrival card online. Confirm whether you need to complete an electronic arrival card before you fly, and carry your first night's hotel address for the immigration officer.

Time zones and jet lag

Seoul is 14 hours ahead of St. Louis during Central Daylight Time and 15 hours ahead in winter; Korea does not change its clocks. That is almost a complete inversion of your day, so plan on four or five days to settle in either direction. Westbound you usually land in the late afternoon or evening, which helps: get to your hotel, eat a light dinner and go to bed at a normal local time.

The return lands you in St. Louis in the afternoon or evening after a very long day. Daylight the next morning and no long nap on arrival day shorten the recovery.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The first mistake is buying the St. Louis to hub leg and the Pacific leg as two tickets to save a little, then losing the saving several times over when a delay breaks the connection. The second is turning up at the wrong Incheon terminal for the flight home. The third is landing at Incheon too late for the AREX, which stops around midnight, with no bus or taxi plan. Each is avoidable with a few minutes of checking.