Delta is set to launch Salt Lake City, Utah’s first direct flight to Asia with an inaugural flight to Seoul, South Korea, in June 2025. With strengthened business ties, a sister city agreement, and expanding educational exchanges, Utah is ushering in a new era of deeper connectivity with South Korea.
In a trailblazing move for international travel and regional connectivity, Delta Air Lines will launch Salt Lake City, Utah’s first-ever direct flight to Asia, with a direct flight to Seoul, South Korea, beginning June 12th, 2025. This long-anticipated route enhances travel between Utah, the broader Mountain West region, and destinations across Asia. In addition, Delta’s joint venture with South Korean airline Korean Air will offer unmatched travel reach, leveraging hubs on both sides of the Pacific. In fact, Delta—along with Korean Air—now connects Seoul with 14 major US cities, offering the widest network of Asian destinations via Incheon International Airport (ICN) of any trans-Pacific airline partnership.
Local leaders are also optimistic about this new far-reaching connection. “Strong partnerships [like Delta and Korean Air] can often have the biggest impacts on visitors and our residents,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall in Delta’s press release. “From Delta’s Salt Lake City Hub, the Incheon route will connect our capitol city with 80-plus destinations in Asia, expanding our community’s global reach.” Beyond transportation, this aviation development is expected to strengthen ties in education, culture, diplomacy, and commerce between Utah and South Korea.
Just weeks after the inaugural flight, another historic milestone will take place: the official signing of a sister city agreement between Cottonwood Heights and Yeonsu-gu, a district in Incheon, South Korea. Scheduled for July 4th, 2025, this ceremonial event will include the arrival of a delegation of student representatives from South Korea, a cultural welcome dinner, and tributes to Korean War veterans and their families. The night will also unveil a new scholarship opportunity that will provide high schoolers from Cottonwood Heights the chance to travel to South Korea and visit their sister city on a student exchange.
This international partnership isn’t just ceremonial—it’s becoming tangible in the form of a Korea-themed sister city park in Cottonwood Heights, designed by students from the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Incheon. The Asia campus, which achieved an enrollment of 620 students in 2024, allows students to spend three years studying in South Korea and one year in Salt Lake City. Sparked by UAC’s 10th year anniversary celebrations and formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the project represents a cultural fusion of architecture, urban planning, civic engagement, and cross-cultural storytelling. Students enrolled in urban ecology and design courses have created conceptual models for the 45,000-meter park, incorporating traditional Korean aesthetics like contemplative green spaces, pavilions, reflecting pools, and original art and cultural installations. The park’s landscaping elements will draw inspiration from iconic Korean historical sites like Gwanghwamun Plaza and Changdeokgung Palace. Construction of the Korea-inspired park is expected to be completed by 2027.
These developments reflect a greater trend: growing people-to-people and business ties. In September 2024, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox led a trade delegation to South Korea and Japan, meeting with former South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol to promote business partnerships and support the over 200 Utah-based companies currently doing business in South Korea. These efforts align with demographic shifts as well. As the fastest growing minority group in the state, Utah's Asian population has increased by just over 50% throughout the last decade with more than 20,000 Korean Americans calling the state home.
From educational campuses and cultural parks to business exchanges and new air routes, Utah is becoming a vibrant crossroads between the American Western Interior and the Indo-Pacific. As new connections are made in classrooms, board rooms, and public parks, Utah’s first direct flight to Asia represents the state’s elevated role on the global stage—laying the foundation for sustained international engagement that will benefit generations for years to come.
Emma Potts is a Spring 2025 Young Professional at the East-West Center in Washington. Emma recently graduated from Columbia University, majoring in Political Science and East Asian Languages & Cultures.