Abstract : This study examines the symmetric and asymmetric effects of air transport and financial development on economic growth in South Korea. Both the linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and the nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model are employed using annual data spanning the period 1980–2023. The cointegration results obtained from both the ARDL bounds test and the NARDL bounds test confirm the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among the study variables. The ARDL estimations designate that air transport and financial development exert a negative and statistically significant effect on economic growth in both the short and long run. In contrast, the NARDL results reveal significant asymmetric effects. Specifically, positive shocks to air transport have a positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth in both the short and long run. Moreover, both positive and negative shocks to financial development significantly influence economic growth, with positive shocks promoting economic growth and negative shocks constraining it. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for nonlinear and asymmetric relationships when examining the roles of air transport and financial development in promoting economic growth.