Mokpo Air Base is an air base in

Mokpo Mokpo (; ''Mokpo-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed train services to Seoul, and is the terminus for a number of fe ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 2006, 16,909 passengers utilized the airport. This airport was closed when the nearby

Muan International Airport Muan International Airport () is an airport in Muan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Construction of the airport began in 1997 and the airport opened on November 9, 2007. The airport serves the province of Jeollanam-do, especially the cities ...

opened in November 2007.

Overview

Mokpo Airport opened as a stopover between

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

in 1969 but closed in 1972. Twenty years later, Mokpo Airport opened again and several airplanes took off and landed. There were six daily flights to Seoul, two to Jeju, and one to Busan. Problems associated with this airport include a narrow runway as well as frequent misty weather. Additionally, there were fewer customers after the crash of

Asiana Airlines Flight 733 Asiana Airlines Flight 733 (OZ733, AAR733, registration HL7229) was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport (SEL at the time, now GMP) to Mokpo Airport (MPK), South Korea. The Boeing 737 crashed on July ...

and the opening of the

Seohaean Expressway The Seohaean Expressway (Korean: 서해안 고속도로; Seohaean Gosok Doro), meaning "West Coast Expressway", is a freeway in South Korea, connecting Mokpo to Gunsan, Dangjin, and Seoul. It is numbered 15. The entire length from Seoul to ...

also known as the west coast highway. These were among the reasons that the airport was closed in 2007.

Accidents and incidents

*On 26 July 1993, an

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

Flight 733

Boeing 737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, ...

(HL7229) struck high ground in poor weather about four kilometres from the runway in

while it was making its third attempt at landing. 2 of the 6 crew members and 66 of the 110 passengers were killed.

References

Airports in South Korea {{SouthKorea-airport-stub