Santa Arrives in Korea on Christmas Eve, Distributes 20 Million Gifts in 3 Minutes, Then Heads to Bukhan

North American Aerospace Defense Command Reveals Santa's Real-Time Location
Stops by International Space Station to Deliver Gifts to Astronauts

On the night of December 24th, Christmas Eve, as usual, Santa Claus rode Rudolph's sleigh, flying across the night sky of the Korean Peninsula, delivering presents before departing.

According to the real-time Santa tracking route released on December 25th, Christmas Day, by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on its official website and social media platforms, Santa arrived in Korea around 11:24 PM the previous day. He entered the airspace south of Seogwipo, Jeju, crossed the South Sea, and busily traveled across the country from Busan to Daejeon and Seoul. Santa flew his sleigh around Yeouido 63 Building and Namsan Seoul Tower once each, then circled the Jamsil Lotte World Tower twice before passing over the roof of Gyeongbokgung Palace. NORAD reported, “At Seoul Tower atop Namsan, Santa undoubtedly enjoyed the beautiful cityscape.”

Santa Claus passing by Seoul Namsan Tower. Photo by NORAD

After delivering over 20 million gifts to children in Korea in just 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Santa headed north, stayed for about a minute in North Korea to deliver presents, and then exited the Korean Peninsula heading toward Shenyang, China.

Santa departs from the North Pole at 6 PM Korean time every year on the 24th and flies around the world. This year, he traveled south over the Pacific Ocean along the International Date Line, passed Antarctica, then headed north again, passing Australia and Japan before arriving in Korea. Additionally, he stopped by the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver gifts to seven astronauts.

NORAD, responsible for air defense over the North American continent, has been tracking Santa’s flight path in real time and sharing it with children worldwide for 69 years since 1956. The tradition began when a local department store mistakenly published NORAD’s phone number for a “Call Santa” event before Christmas, resulting in a flood of calls from children to NORAD.

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Infrared Tracking Emitted by Rudolph’s Red Nose

Colonel Harry Shoup of the U.S. Air Force, who was on duty on Christmas Eve, received a call from a child wanting to speak with Santa. He cleverly replied, “I’m not Santa, but I can track where he is using radar.” Colonel Shoup informed other children who called about Santa’s location, and since then, NORAD has continued the annual “Santa Tracking Event.” NORAD explains that it tracks Santa’s location using radar and satellites by detecting the infrared light emitted from Rudolph’s red nose.