South Korean pop culture company STARS Group plans to apply to the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for a permit to lease two Bombardier Aerospace Challenger 650s to provide a premium charter flight experience to travellers keen for a taste of Korean culture. STARS has established a subsidiary entity called Hallyu Air, through which it intends to market the flights. Hallyu's literal translation means Korean Wave, a collective term used to refer to the growth of Korean popular culture.
STARS Group CEO Kwon Tae-hyung recently told Seoul's Segye Ilbo newspaper that he intends to open a "global hallyu centre" in India later this year and use local interest in Korean food, fashions, and popular culture as a springboard for relaunching Hallyu Air, which until now has existed as on online charter booking platform relying on third party operators. He hopes to have the Bombardiers flying in the first half of 2025.
The report names the CEO of Hallyu Air as Hong Seok-jin, who it says is an aviation industry veteran with previous roles at Eastar Jet, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and Air Premia, among others, although what Hong did at these airlines was not disclosed. In a separate interview published in an online cryptocurrency newsletter last year, Hong described Hallyu Air as "a global air transport brokerage and sharing platform capable of operating full and half-sized private jets and 300-seat passenger/cargo charter flights not only in Korea but anywhere in the world."
Kwon says Hallyu Air will leverage the growing Hallyu fandom culture and provide charter air services to fans worldwide so that they can visit Korea. The Segye Ilbo report indicates Hallyu Air intends to make flights available on an ad hoc basis to the general public and also sell jet club membership packages.
