Seoul and Central Florida's largest airports work to create direct flight to continue tech, tourism momentum
Osceola County doesn’t have an internationalstyle airport—but what it does have is a terminal for international investment, with a heavy influence from Asia and, specifically, Korea.
Thanks to investments reaching the brink of nine figures in the Osceola technology campus that is NeoCity, officials are working to create a way to link Korea with Orlando International Airport.
Monday morning, Leadership from Incheon International Airport, which serves the South Korean capital of Seoul, Orlando International Airport, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Osceola County gathered at NeoCity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to create a direct flight from Orlando (airport code MCO) to Incheon (ICN), the first direct flight to Asia from MCO.
Locally, that would be important to create an easier link to NeoCity, which has seen a number of Korean education and technology investments, including an MOU with the Korea Institute of Advancement of Technology to funnel Koreanfunded business to Osceola County, and another in just the last month with South Korean tech company ELSPES, which intends to develop a 75,000-squarefoot facility focused on developing and manufacturing silicon capacitors. Korean tech firm DSUS also has a deal to build NeoCity’s town center, a billion-dollar investment.
Currently, Incheon can only be accessed directly from North American cities like Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas and New York’s JFK Airport.
Incheon served 71 million passengers in 2019, the most in Asia, prior to COVID-19 hamstringing most international travel.
With the Orlando area’s ties to the global tourism market, much of the world is accessible to and through MCO. Once the agreement between the airport and Osceola County turns into a non-stop route, it will open a pipeline to Korea not just for business travel but for tourist traffic as well.
“This agreement will benefit travelers both in Asia and the United States,” Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault said. “NeoCity is helping nurture that relationship and attract local and global organizations into a centralized ecosystem. I have no doubt that a regional partner like NeoCity will help us fulfill that.”
“I hope both airports and Osceola County will continue to collaborate on route development, joint marketing and other efforts to establish a direct route between Incheon and Orlando, “Incheon International Airport Corporation President and CEO Hag-Jae Lee said. “It will not only allow passengers from Korea but those from Japan, China and other Asian countries to travel to Orlando.”
The two airports are similar—Incheon saw over 71 million passengers pass through in 2019 before COVID-19 massively affected travel. That count was 52 million in 2024 as the country and airport continue to rebound. MCO saw 57.7 million passengers in 2024.
Osceola Commissioner Cheryl Grieb can speak on this travel portal from existence, having traveled to Korea to help foster the relationships helping to drive investment to NeoCity. The travel, going through hubs like Atlanta or Hong Kong, took at least 18 hours.
“These led to semiconductor manufacturing and cultivating relationships with Korean academic and industry partners,” she said. “We have a strong coalition of regional stakeholders that working together to bring economic prosperity to our region, leading to this agreement between Incheon, Orlando and Osceola County. The direct flight would strengthen tourism and enhance international business development, paving the way for greater economic opportunity and investment in our area.”
Osceola has established a Korean office for NeoCityLinks, an entity working to facilitate and direct South Korean investment and business activity to the County.
“We’ve been working (since then) to introduce a direct flight between Asia and Orlando, so this is a remarkable moment for NeoCity and Osceola County,” Osceola County Manager Don Fisher said. “This is a route that’s been worked on for at least a decade, and NeoCity has been a catalyst for that. It’s nice to be part of that conversation.”
