Cheap flights to
South Korea

Over years of watching the cost of airline tickets rise and fall with what seems like no predictability, we’ve noticed that there actually are some patterns. There’s a period before every flight when you’re most likely to get a good deal on a ticket. It’s 1-3 months before a domestic trip and 2-8 months before an international one. We call this sweet spot the Goldilocks Window.

It’s important to note, though, that some trips require you to book even further ahead to get the best deal. If you’re traveling during the high season, for example, or over a major holiday—even if you’re just limited to specific travel dates with no flexibility at all, you’ll want to add a few months to the equation above. And, whatever you do, try to book before airlines raise prices as a flight nears, which happens 21, 14, and 7 days before departure.

Sometimes, you get lucky with a killer airfare deal from your home airport to exactly where you want to travel. Most of the time, though, you either have to pay more for your flights or get a little bit creative with your travel planning. Instead of booking that expensive ticket, we recommend trying one of our favorite travel hacks: the Greek Islands Trick. The gist is that you look for the cheapest flight that gets you close to where you want to be and then look for a different transit method (like a train trip, short flight, or drive) to travel the rest of the way.

If you’re trying to get to South Korea from Los Angeles, it might be a little disappointing to find that flights to Seoul are $1,100 and up roundtrip. Zoom out on the map just a bit, though, and you might discover flights from LA to Bangkok are less than $800 roundtrip. Even when you buy a separate flight from Bangkok to Seoul for $180 roundtrip, you’re still saving a little bit of money. These itineraries do require more attention to detail when planning, but sometimes the savings can make that attention worth your time.

Whereas the Greek Islands Trick is all about trying different arrival airports to find a better deal, this tip is about comparing departure airports for cheap flights. People who live near more than one airport probably already do this, but it’s a good habit for any budget-conscious traveler to get into. We see fabulously low fares from airports all over the country, big and small, so it never hurts to browse a few options before you click that buy button.

When you live in a massive metro area like New York, it can feel like you’re spoiled for choice with three big international airports nearby. And, chances are, most of the time, you’ll find a great deal from one of them. But nonstop flights from NYC to South Korea might be $1,500 roundtrip or more, while flights from LA could be just over $1,000 roundtrip. There are often fares from New York to LAX with a price tag of under $200 roundtrip, which means a savings of a few hundred bucks.

This sounds like obvious advice, right? Well, it’s a little more nuanced than it seems. This tip is all about flexibility. The more flexible you can be when you’re planning a trip, the more money you stand to save. That’s why so many frequent travelers prefer taking holidays in the shoulder seasons rather than the (more expensive) high season, for example. But not everyone has the luxury of that kind of flexibility—school schedules are what they are, and there’s no getting around that. Luckily, there are still a few things you can do to save a little bit when you fly.

You should check out fares in the first two weeks of June and the last two weeks of August if you’re stuck with summer as your only vacation time. These weeks often have cheaper airfare than the rest of the summer. You can also take advantage of Thanksgiving for international travel—it tends to be a pretty cheap week to fly outside the US since everyone is trying to fly domestically. You should also try to avoid scheduling flights on the most expensive days (Fridays and Sundays), aiming for what are usually the cheaper days (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays) instead.

One of the best ways to stay on top of the constant changes in airfare without spending all your free time staring at the computer is by signing up for fare alerts for the trip you’re thinking about. Once you do that, you’ll be notified via email when the fare drops. Do this well enough in advance and you’ll be able to book with the confidence that you’re getting a good deal. Just note that you’ll need to set up a separate alert for each itinerary, so if your plans are flexible that means creating a few alerts. Or? You can join Going and let us put our experts to work searching for cheap fares for you.

The busiest airport in South Korea is Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN), which is a hub for Air Premia, Air Seoul, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jim Air, Korean Air, and T’way Air. There are a total of 78 airlines serving Seoul, with dozens of daily nonstop flights from 14 airports around the United States. It’s the only South Korean airport with direct flights from the US.