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Korean National Airlines

Airline of Korea

Korean National Airlines (KNA) was the first (commercial cargo and passenger) air carrier in Korea. Established in 1946 and incorporated in 1948 in South Korea, its first official passenger flight was from Seoul to Pusan on October 30, 1948 (which is now Korea's National Air Day holiday). The carrier was an international carrier – though it was privately owned by its founding chairman, Captain Shin Yong-Wook (신용욱).2 It ceased to exist in 1962.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1948Founded1
  • HeadquartersSeoul1

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Douglas DC-4-1009 Korean National Airlines HL-108
Photo: Bill Larkins, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Korean National Airlines (KNA) was the first (commercial cargo and passenger) air carrier in Korea. Established in 1946 and incorporated in 1948 in South Korea, its first official passenger flight was from Seoul to Pusan on October 30, 1948 (which is now Korea's National Air Day holiday). The carrier was an international carrier – though it was privately owned by its founding chairman, Captain Shin Yong-Wook (신용욱). It operated under the brand name Koreanair.2

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Fleet

The Korean National Airlines fleet ultimately consisted of the following aircraft:

Two Fokker F.27 Friendships were on order by KNA at the time of its demise and were eventually operated by Korean Air Lines.

Destinations

KNA served the following destinations:

Busan - three daily DC-3 services in 1957; two daily DC-3 and DC-4 services by 1961

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Gangneung - four DC-3 services per week as of 1957; weekly by 1961

Gwangju - two weekly DC-3 services in 1957; three by 1961

Hong Kong - weekly DC-4 service in 1957; weekly Constellation service by 1961

Jeju - three weekly DC-3 services from Gwangju by 1961

Seoul (hub)

From Wikipedia’s article on Korean National Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1962Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1948Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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