The circuit was announced on 2 September 2009, with construction intended to deliver a finished venue by July 2010. It was designed by Hermann Tilke, who was given the brief of creating a track that combined a permanent infield section with a temporary street-circuit-style harbour side layout, allowing spectators along the promenade, from hotels, and from yachts to watch the race. The facility cost approximately $264 million, funded via a deal between Formula One's commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and the Korean F1 promoter Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO), a joint venture between M-Bridge Holdings and the Jeollanam-do regional government.
Excessive rainfall caused construction delays, and several facilities remained incomplete when the track was inspected by FIA race director Charlie Whiting in October 2010, just ten days before the inaugural race. He described the circuit as "satisfactory" and the mandatory licence was issued through the Korea Automobile Racing Association.
The circuit begins with a double left-hander taken in second gear before opening onto a 1.16 km straight, which leads to the slowest corner on the track, a second-gear right-hand bend. A series of tight second-gear switchbacks at turns four, five, and six follows, giving way to fast fifth-gear bends. Turn ten, a tight right-hander at the foot of a downward-sloping braking zone, leads into the harbour-side section, which replicates a street circuit with a labyrinth of left and right bends. The penultimate sector includes turn seventeen, a long, completely blind right-hander surrounded by walls. The final turn feeds back onto the main straight. The pit entry and exit were criticised from the outset: the entry was on the racing line of a 240 km/h corner, and the exit, until a 2013 revision, fed directly into the outside of turn one, creating a collision hazard. A notable accident occurred during 2011 practice when Nico Rosberg ran wide and hit Jaime Alguersuari at the exit.
The inaugural Korean Grand Prix was held on 24 October 2010, the seventeenth of nineteen rounds that season, drawing a venue capacity of 135,000 spectators. The race was held again in 2011, 2012, and 2013. The initial contract was for seven years, with a five-year option that could have extended the race through 2021, but the Grand Prix was cancelled after 2013. The circuit had hosted only four grands prix by the time it was dropped.
By 2015 the facility was drawing modest attendance at local races and had been widely criticised as a financial failure. The track passed through ongoing financial difficulties related to the original construction funding, with a significant shortfall between required and secured capital during the build phase.
After leaving the Formula One calendar the Korea International Circuit continued as a venue for regional motorsport, including the Superrace Championship, the Audi R8 LMS Cup, the China Touring Car Championship, the Asian Formula Renault Series, and GT Asia Series events. Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia visited in 2019. The circuit remains operational for domestic and regional competition.