Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I'd be suspicious that it would be expensive and/or inconvenient to get from far eastern Russia to Japan or South Korea. You might not like the eastern Russian airports, aircraft, or service. Food and lodging could also be an issue, depending on your standards. Don't forget that Russia probably means a visa, double-entry if you return using the same route.
S7 has direct flights Irkutsk-Seoul: IKT-ICN 14JUL-04AUG roundtrip economy 35987RUB, business 49162RUB
Aircraft may be hit and miss on short-haul domestic flights in Western Russia and/or local airlines. Medium/long-haul flights on Aeroflot and S7 use newer planes, and the quality of service on DME-IKT is better than, say, AA's BOS-LAX.
Roads and traffic in large cities are bad though.