Santa Claus Roamed the Seoul Night Sky... "Merry White Christmas"

North American Aerospace Defense Command Tracking
Arrival in Seoul Sky Around 11:25 PM on the 24th

On Christmas Eve, the night of the 24th, Santa Claus rode a sleigh pulled by Rudolph across the night sky of Seoul.

According to the Santa Claus tracking website operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Santa departed from the North Pole and traveled across the night skies around the world, arriving over Seoul at around 11:25 PM on the 24th.

Santa came jingling bells while riding a sleigh pulled by Rudolph. Upon arriving in Seoul, Santa first made a round over Namsan Tower.

[Photo by NORAD]

He then visited famous Seoul landmarks, including Lotte World Tower and what is presumed to be Gyeongbokgung Palace, flying over the Korean Peninsula while distributing gifts to children from the sky.

NORAD stated, "Santa appeared amidst the beautiful lights of Seoul," adding, "Namsan Tower offers a breathtaking view, and Santa undoubtedly enjoyed it."

After visiting New Zealand and Australia, Santa arrived in Seoul, then proceeded to Shanghai, China, followed by stops in Dubai and Greece, distributing gifts to children along the way. He was later reported flying over Berlin, Germany, and the skies of Spain. Santa also circled around the International Space Station (ISS), where astronauts reside.

[Photo by NORAD]

Last year, Santa entered Korean airspace at around 11:20 PM on the 24th, passing over Jeju Island and Busan before flying over Seoul at 11:27 PM, then visiting Pyongyang before heading to China.

NORAD opened its website at 6 PM local time on the 24th to begin tracking Santa’s location from the moment he departed the North Pole, using radar, sensors, and aircraft.

Having carried out the Santa tracking mission for 68 years, NORAD once again tracked the red light emitted from Rudolph’s nose to determine Santa’s location this year. The website shows a real-time view of Santa flying over a global map on a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

[Photo by North American Aerospace Defense Command]

As Santa’s location was broadcast live on the website, children around the world checked it eagerly, waiting for Santa to visit their countries. Santa travels sequentially to major cities around the world according to time zones on Christmas Eve.

Meanwhile, NORAD, jointly operated by the United States and Canada, has continued the tradition of providing Santa’s virtual location for 68 years.

In 1955, a department store published an advertisement in a newspaper including a phone number to call Santa, but the number was misprinted and connected to the Continental Air Defense Command, a predecessor of NORAD, which sparked the tradition.