Korean aviation has come a long way from its inception dating back to December 10, 1922 when Ahn Chang-nam became the first Korean pilot to make a flight in the Korean air space.

Soon after the founding of our government in 1948, state-run Korean National Airlines was established and on October 30 of the same year, the first domestic commercial flight was made between Seoul and Pusan with a four-passenger Stinson single-engine plane. This domestic flight was followed on August 29, 1954 by the flight to Hong Kong, flown by a 60-passenger DC-4.

Our commercial aviation met a turning point on March 1, 1969 when it was placed under private management. It has since made rapid progress until today, when the Korean Air Lines has a total of 94 planes including B-747 jumboes, with air-routes covering 24 cities in 16 countries of the world, and by ranking 10th in international transport.

The Ministry of Transportation finds it necessary at this juncture to give the nation a new understanding of flying, which is in fact the safest and fastest means of transportation, and help bring about a new epoch of progress in Korean aviation. The Ministry has thus designated October 30, the date of our first commercial flight, as National Aviation Day and decided to observe the day from this year.