Incheon

About Incheon

For most travellers Incheon means the airport, but the city behind it has a story of its own. When its harbour was opened to foreign trade in 1883, merchants arrived from China, Japan and the West, and the hills above the port still hold Korea's best-known Chinatown, Japanese-era warehouses and the country's first Western-style park. In September 1950 the landing at Incheon turned the tide of the Korean War.

Today Incheon is a metropolitan city of around three million people that stretches from the old port to Songdo, a district of towers and canals built on reclaimed land, and out to dozens of islands in the Yellow Sea. Ganghwa Island to the north is rich in history, with prehistoric dolmens on the UNESCO list and ancient temples in its hills.

Seoul Subway Line 1 ends at Incheon Station beside Chinatown, AREX trains link the airport with Seoul, and ferries leave Yeonan Pier for the western islands. Food is a highlight, from jjajangmyeon noodles to the glazed fried chicken of Sinpo Market.