Flight Cancelled or Delayed in Korea and the Notice Is in Korean: Key Words, Where to Check, Compensation Rules

When your airline's text or app alert arrives only in Korean, you cannot even tell whether the flight is cancelled or just retimed. The fast route: sort out the situation from a handful of words in the alert, confirm it on the airport's official site in your language, and call 1330 for an interpreter if you and the airline can't understand each other. Korea's Fair Trade Commission also publishes a compensation standard for international flight delays, worth knowing if the wait gets long.

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   Step 1: Read the situation from a few words

   결항 (gyeolhang) means the flight will not operate; 지연 (jiyeon) means it will leave late. 출발 시각 변경 is a new departure time, and 탑승구 변경 is a gate change only. 대체편 is a replacement flight the airline puts you on, and 환불 is a refund. Paste the whole message into a translation app such as Papago, or point its camera at the screen, to get a rough reading of the rest.

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   Step 2: Check the airport's official flight board in your language

   Incheon Airport's site (airport.kr) has a departures board with gate, status and flight-notice columns, and you can switch the site to English, Chinese or Japanese at the top. For Gimpo, the Korea Airports Corporation's English site has a departures and arrivals board with Current Status and Boarding Gate. Incheon Airport's site says the airline holds the accurate information, so if the board and the airline disagree, go with the airline.

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   Step 3: If there's a language barrier with the airline, call 1330

   1330, the Korea Tourism Organization's tourist interpretation line, runs in eight languages from 07:00 to midnight Korean time according to a March 2026 report, and can interpret over a three-way call. Its hours have changed before, so late at night it may not pick up. Have your booking reference and flight number ready before asking about a replacement flight or refund.

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   Step 4: If the delay drags on, know the compensation standard

   The Fair Trade Commission's Consumer Dispute Settlement Standards for international flights set compensation based on the fare of the delayed segment: 10% for 2 to 4 hours, 20% for 4 to 12 hours and 30% for over 12 hours, plus reasonable meals and lodging if you have to stay over. The airline is exempt if it proves causes such as weather, airport conditions, late arrival of the aircraft from its previous flight or unforeseen measures for safe operation. This is a standard for settling disputes, not an automatic payment, so keep the delay messages and your meal and hotel receipts.