• by Danielle Oster , March 11, 2025

It has been over four decades since Korean Air’s last brand refresh in 1984 -- and only the second in the airline’s 55-year history.

Its new visual design, developed in collaboration with global brand, experience and marketing consultancy Lippincott, is designed to elevate Korean Air’s reputation as a premium international airline while expanding Seoul, South Korea’s global aviation hub status, according to a release announcing the news.

The visual brand refresh follows Korean Air completing an acquisition of Asiana Airlines last December in a deal reportedly worth $1.3-$1.6 billion, after a protracted process dragging on for around four years.

 At the center of the visual refresh is a new logo featuring a reimagined Taeguk -- the widely recognized symbol featured on the national flag of South Korea, along with visual elements meant to represent Sangmo Nori, a folkloric Korean dance incorporating flowing ribbon movements, which signifies prosperity and abundance. The transformation is intended to allow the logo to act independently as a stand-in for the brand, “enhancing its visibility in the cabin environments designed by Priestman Goode,” according to the announcement.

Appearing across the airline’s livery, the logo is designed  to “evoke calligraphic brush strokes” to add elegance to the new visual identity.

The airline also dropped the word “Air” from its aircraft fuselage logo, in order for “Korean” to take center stage – a move designed to enhance brand visibility, according to Korean Air. In addition to the logo, the visual brand refresh also includes changes to the brand’s typography, Korean Air retained its blue-spectrum color palette, with the addition of “subtle accents of blue” to its redesigned cabin environments.

The brand introduced the new look with a two-minute video it shared on its YouTube page and social channels, which also touts the airline flights to “hundreds of locations” after the Asiana acquisition. The spot concludes wth the tagline, “Anywhere is possible.” On Instagram, the brand also shared the message “Nice to meet you, I’m the new Korean Air” alongside images of its new livery on one of its planes.

In a statement, Lippincott CEO Michael D’Esopo said the visual brand refresh drew on the Lippincott’s “expertise in both aviation branding and establishing post-M&A brands to build connection and progress for the future.”