Korean Air, the world’s largest transpacific airline, launched a new nonstop service between Boston and Seoul on April 12, 2019 in cooperation with joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines.
The Boston-Seoul service will be operated on Korean Air’s new 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring six First Class sleeper suites, 18 Prestige business class sleeper suites, and 245 seats in economy class.
The new route is part of Massport’s steady expansion of international flights to Boston’s Logan International Airport in recent years as Massachusetts and New England continue to attract both leisure and business travelers.
John Jackson, Korean Air’s managing vice president, said, “As a major gateway for high tech industries, Boston is the most popular unserved point from Korea with rapidly growing demand to Asia. The city, with its numerous universities and colleges, is a growing New England hub attracting companies in fast-growing industries like IT, bio-technology, healthcare, finance and pharmaceuticals.”
The new nonstop route will meet a steady demand for travels who had to switch planes in another city to get here. In 2017, Massachusetts welcomed 73,000 South Korean travelers, who represented 3.1% of all international visitors to the Commonwealth. They spent $184 million and generated $11.8 million in state and local taxes.
There are strong cultural ties between Massachusetts and Korea, dating back to 1953, when the Korean Society of Boston was established by professors at Harvard’s Yenching Institute and Boston University. Boston is the third most popular American city for Korean students studying in the United States. There are currently over 3,000 Korean students studying at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College, Northeaster and other universities.
Other universities with notable Korean presence include the Berklee College of Music, whose Korean Culture & Student Association bridges the rich musical traditions of Korea and the United States. And UMass/Amherst is developing major and minor degrees in Korean, while offering classes in how to speak, read and write Korean.
The Massachusetts Export Center works closely with American companies wishing to export lobsters, machinery or high technology abroad. Korea is Massachusetts’ 9th largest export partner, accounting for nearly $1.2 billion in exports, while importing $452 million in goods from Korea in 2017.
At the same time, the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment (MOITI) works with Korean companies seeking to invest in Massachusetts, especially in life sciences and innovation. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in Life Sciences and High Technology Industries between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been in place since 2011.
Korean Air’s new nonstop service between Boston and Seoul:
| Flight Schedules Detail | |||||
| Route | Flight Number | Departure | Arrival | Days of Operation | Aircraft |
| Boston(BOS) – Incheon(ICN) | KE092 | 13:25 | 16:25 (+1 day) | Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun | B787-9 |
| 13:45 | 16:45 (+1 day) | Sat | |||
| Incheon(ICN) – Boston(BOS) | KE091 | 9:30 | 10:30 | Wed, Fri, Sun | B787-9 |
| 09:50 | 10:50 | Tue, Sat | |||
There are strong academic and cultural ties between Massachusetts and Korea, dating back to 1953, when the Korean Society of Boston was established by professors at Harvard’s Yenching Institute and Boston University. Those connections have continued these past six decades.
The Massachusetts Export Center works closely with American companies wishing to export lobsters, machinery or high technology abroad. Korea is Massachusetts’ 10th largest export partner, accounting for nearly $902 million in exports, while importing $365 million in goods from Korea in 2013. We exported more than $24 million in seafood to Korea in 2013.
At the same time, our Office of International Trade and Investment works with Korean companies seeking to invest in Massachusetts, especially in life sciences and innovation.
Massachusetts is also increasing as a tourism destination for South Koreans. In 2017, Massachusetts welcomed 73,000 South Korean travelers, who represented 3.1% of all international visitors to the Commonwealth. They spent $184 million and generated $11.8 million in state and local taxes.
We are optimistic that those tourism numbers will continue to increase as direct routes between Boston and Asian cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo continue to provide access between our destinations.
Boston is the third most popular American city for Korean students studying in the United States. There are currently over 3,000 Korean students studying at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College, Northeaster and other universities.
The Korean-American community in Massachusetts is part of a larger Asian-American community that continues to grow and gain strength. Asian-Americans currently represent about 5% of the Massachusetts population, or approximately 350,000 residents. Of these, approximately 27,000 Koreans live in Massachusetts.
The Korean-American community continues to be an important part of the fabric that makes Massachusetts such a rich tapestry of ethnic diversity, and we are honored to share your celebration of Korean National Day.