‘Santa flies over Seoul at 11:30 p.m. Christmas Eve,' says NORAD

‘Santa flies over Seoul at 11:30 p.m. Christmas Eve,' says NORAD. December. 26, 2017 08:32. by Gi-Jae Han record@donga.com.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which would usually monitor signs of missile launch by North Korea, is once again serving as a “Santa Claus Tracker” this year, marking Christmas day.

On Christmas eve, NORAD headquarters in Colorado, the United States was crowded with hundreds of volunteers wearing Santa hats kindly answering calls from children who want to know Santa's location, according to the Associated Press. Calls and e-mails they get around this time of the year amount to 100,000.

This year marks NORAD’s 63rd year of offering Santa Claus tracking service. NORAD also provided a real-time 3D video of Santa circling the Earth on his sleigh. On their map, Santa flew over Seoul at around 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and South Dakota at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Day.

This service began by chance in 1955, when a kid mistakenly made a phone call to NORAD. A toy store ran an ad offering the chance to speak to Santa and mistakenly printed the phone number of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), which was NORAD's predecessor. Back then, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup answered the call from this kid, who asked, “Are you Santa?” And the Colonel said, “Have you been a good boy this year?” This was the beginning of the U.S. Defense Department’s biggest promotion project for the public.