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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the city. For the airport, see Incheon International Airport.
For other uses, see Incheon (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 37°29′N 126°38′E / 37.483°N 126.633°E / 37.483; 126.633

Incheon
인천
仁川
—  Metropolitan City  —
Korean name transcription(s)
 - Hangul 인천광역시
 - Hanja 仁川廣域市
 - Revised Romanization Incheon Gwang-yeoksi
 - McCune-Reischauer Inch'ŏn Kwang'yŏkshi
Korean name short form transcription(s)
 - Hangul 인천
 - Revised Romanization Incheon
 - McCune-Reischauer Inch'ŏn
From top left: Songdo 1st Bridge, Incheon Bridge, Incheon International Airport, Songdo International City, Songdo Convensia, Landmarks on Songdo 3rd Bridge

Flag
Emblem of Incheon
Map of South Korea with Incheon highlighted
Coordinates: 37°29′N 126°38′E / 37.483°N 126.633°E / 37.483; 126.633
Country South Korea
Region Sudogwon
Founded 1883 as Chemulpo
Subdivisions
Government
 - Type Metropolitan City
 - Mayor Ahn Sang-soo
 - Council Chairman Chang-Gyu Park
Area
 - Total 964.53 km2 (372.4 sq mi)
Population (2005 est.)[1]
 - Total 2,628,000
 - Density 2,724.6/km2 (7,056.8/sq mi)
Time zone Korea Standard Time (UTC+9)
Dialect Seoul
Flower Rose
Tree Tulip tree
Bird Crane
Website english.incheon.go.kr

Incheon, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is South Korea's third largest metropolis, after Seoul and Busan. As the largest seaport on the west coast and home to the country's largest airport, Incheon International Airport, Incheon is South Korea's most important transport hub. In the 21st century, Incheon has transformed into a global business hub centered around the high-tech and futuristic Songdo International City, which is home to South Korea's tallest building, the 305m supertall Northeast Asia Trade Tower.

Human settlement at the location goes back to the Neolithic. In modern times Incheon became important because its location on an estuary made it a good harbor; when the port was founded in 1883, the city, called Jemulpo at the time (hangul: 제물포, hanja: 濟物浦), had a population of only 4,700. Incheon is now home to over 2.5 million people and under the control of one of the two free economic zone authorities in Korea, aimed at attracting foreign investment; the city aims to turn itself into a financial and corporate hub along with the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority.

Incheon is regarded as part of the greater Seoul metropolitan area due to part of it bordering the capital, and the fact that the Seoul Metropolitan Subway and the Incheon Subway systems are linked. Incheon is, however, a major city in its own right and is a separate jurisdiction from Seoul.

Contents

History

The first historical record of the Incheon area dates back to 475 A.D. during the reign of King Jangsu of Goguryeo by the name of Michuhol. The area underwent several name changes with successive kingdoms and dynasties. The current name was established in 1413 A.D. during the reign of King Taejong of Joseon. The name Jemulpo was not widely used until the opening of the port in 1883.[2][3]

On September 15, 1950, during the Korean War, Incheon was the site of the Battle of Incheon, when United States troops landed to relieve pressure on the Pusan Perimeter and to launch a United Nations offensive northward. The USS Inchon (MCS-12) was named after the tide-turning battle that ensued.

Incheon was originally part of Gyeonggi Province, but was granted Directly Governed (now Metropolitan) City status on July 1, 1981.

Incheon was known as Inchon prior to South Korea's adoption of a new Romanization system in 2000.

Climate

Incheon
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
22
 
1
-7
 
 
23
 
3
-5
 
 
40
 
8
1
 
 
87
 
15
7
 
 
83
 
20
12
 
 
108
 
24
17
 
 
285
 
27
21
 
 
252
 
28
22
 
 
152
 
25
17
 
 
48
 
19
10
 
 
50
 
11
3
 
 
20
 
4
-3
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: climate-charts.com

Incheon has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwa). Incheon's climate is about average compared to the rest of Korea, with 8 locations being cooler and 10 locations being warmer, and with 9 locations being wetter and 9 locations being drier.[4]

Incheon experiences each of its four seasons, distinctly feeling the rise and fall of temperature and humidity. The temperature however, never rises to an extreme, and the climate of the city is essentially mild. Incheon is swept by the seasonal winds as the northwesterly winds strike the city in the winter and the summer in Incheon is affected by gusts of the warm southwesterly winds.[5]




Major events

Incheon hosted a series of major international events. The Global Fair & Festival 2009 Incheon, Korea was held in the Songdo District in August 2009. It was open from August 7 to October 25 for a period of 80 days. It was a comprehensive international event with global institutions and corporations as participants.Various musicians and artists performed during the event.

Incheon has also won the bid to host the Asian Games in 2014.

Education

On February 27, 2007, Incheon declared itself an "English City," and inaugurated the "Incheon Free English Zone" program. The goal of the program is to make Incheon as much an English speaking city as Hong Kong and Singapore are. This is for the ultimate purpose of establishing Incheon as a commercial and business hub of northeast Asia (see Free Economic Zone below). The official slogan of the program is "Smile with English."

Higher education

Incheon is home to several colleges and universities:

See also: Category:Universities and colleges in Incheon

Sports

The Incheon Munhak Stadium used during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Incheon is home to the following professional and semi professional sports teams:

Baseball

The sucessful KBO team SK Wyverns.

Basketball

The KBL team Incheon ET Land Blackslamers.

Football (Soccer)

K-League team Incheon United.
The National League team Incheon Korail.

Munhak Sports Complex

The Munahk Sports Complex houses both a football stadium and a baseball stadium. The football stadium was Incheon's venue for the 2002 Football World Cup, and is also the home venue for Incheon United. The baseball stadium is the home venue for the SK Wyverns.

On April 19, 2007, Incheon was selected as the host city for the 2014 Asian Games, beating out New Delhi.[6]

Transportation

Incheon is a major domestic and international transportation hub for Korea.

View of the station at Incheon International Airport.

Air

Incheon International Airport, a regional air hub, is South Korea's primary international airport.

There were a total of 160,843 flights (157,134 international, 3,709 domestic) to and from Incheon International Airport in 2005, an average of 441 flights (431 international, 10 domestic) daily. 59.7% of the flights were serviced by Korea’s two national carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, with foreign carriers servicing the remaining 40.3%, which breaks down as follows: China 45,125 flights {28.1% of total}, Japan 32,352 {20.1%}, Southeast Asia 30,567 {19%}, Americas 27,916 {17.4%}, Europe 11,082 {6.9%}, Domestic 3,709 {2.3%}, Oceania 2,811 {1.7%}, others 7,281 {4.5%}.

Sea

Incheon's sea port is the second largest port in Korea after Busan's sea port.

The International Passenger Terminal located at the port offers ferries to four cities in China: Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Weihai. There are also ferries to Incheon's outlying islands as well as Baengnyeong Island inside of the Northern Limit Line.

Buses

Incheon Bus Terminal, located at its eponymous subway stop, offers express bus transportation to all parts of Korea. Many city bus lines offer transportation within city limits as well as to the neighboring cities of Bucheon, Gimpo, Seoul, and Siheung.

Many BRT lines offer transportation between Seoul and Incheon.

Train

Local service to Guro, Seoul, Cheongnyangni, Uijeongbu and Soyosan is offered by Seoul's subway Line 1. The line has 11 stations within Incheon and connects to the Incheon Subway at Bupyeong station.

Rapid service on the same line to Yongsan Station in Seoul depart from Dongincheon station and stops at major stations.

The Airport Express (AREX) line was opened between Gimpo Airport and Incheon International Airport in March 2007. The line has 6 stations on 40.3 km (25.0 mi) of track and is operated by Airport Railroad Corporation. It connects to the Incheon Subway at Gyeyang station and Seoul Metropolitan Subway at Gimpo Airport station. It will be extended to Seoul station by December 2010. The extended line has 4 stations on 20.7 km (12.9 mi), and the existing line will have 3 more stations.

Subway

Main article: Incheon Subway

The Incheon Subway has a single subway line serving the city. It connects to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system at Bupyeong station, and AREX line at Gyeyang station. The line has 28 stations on 29.4 km of track. The Incheon subway is operated by the Incheon Rapid Transit Corporation (IRTC).

Extensions and additions are planned: IRTC has a plan to construct a second line, Line 2. It will extend from Oryu, Seo-gu to Incheon Grand Park, and will have 27 stations on 29.2 km of track. Line 2 is under construction from June 26, 2009 to 2014. Korail is constructing a new subway line from Incheon station to Suwon station by 2013. It will have 10 stations within Incheon. SMRT (one of three operating companies of Seoul Metropolitan Subway) also has to extend Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 7 to Bupyeong-gu office by 2011 and provide transfers to the Incheon Subway system. It will have 3 stations within Incheon including the Bupyeong-gu office station.

Free Economic Zone

The Incheon Free Economic Zone consists of the three regions of Songdo, Cheongna, and the island of Yeongjong, and has a total area of 51,739 acres (20,938 ha). The goal of IFEZ is to transform these three areas into hubs for logistics, international business, leisure, and tourism for the Northeast Asian region. The term 'Free Economic Zone' applies to the development in these three areas with the aim of improving the business environment for foreign-invested enterprises and the living conditions for foreigners. The zone is a specially designated area to create the most favorable business and living environment where foreign nationals can live and invest freely and conveniently. Incheon's Free Economic Zone, the first in Korea, was officially designated by the Korean government in August 2003. IFEZ is planned to be a self-contained living and business district featuring air and sea transportation, a logistics complex, an international business center, financial services, residences, schools and hospitals, and shopping and entertainment centres.

New Songdo City

New Songdo City.

Songdo International city began development in 1994 and is being built on reclaimed land. It is designated to become a center of diverse international businesses, a hub for international trade, an area for knowledge-based technologies, and a place for eco-friendly urban living. It is due to finish completely in 2020.

  • Development size: 13,162 ares
  • Planned population: 252,000 persons
  • Construction duration: 1994~2020

Yeongjong Island

Yeongjong International City’s 34,183 acres (13,833 ha) centering on the Incheon International Airport will be developed as an eco-friendly airport city by 2020. It will be a functional city with residential amenities for airport staff and visitors, as well as logistics, commercial and distribution facilities. Yeongjong will provide an optimal environment for logistic, tourism and leisure in conjunction with the Incheon International Airport.

  • Development size: 34,183 acres (13,833 ha)
  • Planned population: 144,800 persons
  • Duration: 2002~2016

Cheongna

The Cheongna district, on the mainland adjacent Yeongjong Island, will focus on entertainment and will feature a world class theme park. It will also be a residential area with sports facilities, a floriculture complex, and a business area specially designed for international finance.

  • Development Size: 4,394 acres (1,778 ha)
  • Planned population: 90,000 persons
  • Duration: 2004~2008

Administrative divisions

Main article: Wards of Incheon
Administrative divisions of Incheon.

Incheon is divided into 8 wards ("gu") and 2 counties ("gun").

Points of interest

Bupyeong Station is where the Seoul Subway Line 1 and Incheon subway line intersect. There is a large under ground shopping center there mostly selling trendy women's clothing and cell phones. Above ground, there are many restaurants, additional shops, and a Lotte Mart.

A number of Korea's western islands, including Ganghwa Island, Yeongjong Island, and Baengnyeong Island are also administered by Incheon. Baengnyeong Island is South Korea's westernmost point.

Jayu (Freedom) Park- The statue of General MacArthur, Douglas MacArthur, as well as a memorial to the centennial anniversary of U.S. and Korea relations is located within.

Chinatown is Korea's only official Chinatown, located across from Incheon Station near Jayu Park.

Wolmido- Location of Green Beach, one of the landing sites for MacArthur's invasion force. It is now a local tourist attraction with a boardwalk, an amusement park and many raw fish restaurants. Ferries run from Wolmido to Yeongjongdo and Jakyakdo.

Jakyakdo- A tiny island located in the harbor close between Wolmido and Yeongjongdo. There are many walkways and picnic spots, a restaurant, and seasonal rental rooms.

Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall- A plaza and small museum dedicated to the Landing. Weapons and artifacts from the war and operation are displayed.

Incheon Dohobu Cheongsa- Located nearby Munhak Stadium, this is the old government complex for Incheon. It has existed since at least the reign of King Sejong, about 1424 A.D.

Incheon's government has many plans for restoring Incheon's old town.

Monument to 100 years of friendship between Korea and the USA in Jayu Park.

The statue of MacArthur at Jayu Park.

A walkway in Jayu Park.

Port of Incheon

Incheon MRT Line 1

New Songdo City's Skyline

The tiny island of Jakyakdo.

Arial view of Incheon International Airport

People from Incheon

Sister cities

Independent cities in South Korea

See also

References

  1. ^ http://kosis.nso.go.kr/cgi-bin/sws_888.cgi?ID=DT_1IN0001&IDTYPE=3&A_LANG=2&FPUB=4&SELITEM=0
  2. ^ Incheon Metropolitan City
  3. ^ Ewing, Stefan. "By Train from Seoul to Incheon -- and Jemulpo, too." Korea Web, 25 January 2006.
  4. ^ Inchon, Korea: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data
  5. ^ Incheon Weather, Climate of Incheon, Incheon’s weather
  6. ^ The Korea Herald : The Nation's No.1 English Newspaper

External links


Travel guide

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From Wikitravel

Incheon [1] (인천, 仁川), also Inchon, is in South Korea on the coast directly to the west of Seoul.

Understand

A politically independent city of 2.5 million, Incheon is in practice largely a suburb of Seoul. In 1950, the city was the site of the Inchon Landing by American forces, a decisive battle in the Korean War. Today's Incheon is a gritty industrial city, and while there are several pleasant things to do there, it shouldn't be considered a tourist destination of itself, particularly when Seoul is within easy reach.

Incheon serves as a transportation hub by both air and sea, with a massive harbor and Korea's main international airport. Several nearby islands, notably Yeongjong Island and Ganghwa Island, are also within city limits.

Newer neighborhoods, built on land reclaimed from the sea, are practically independent mini-cities with shopping, schools, housing, and industry. These newer areas pride themselves on being clean, modern, and safe, and compete for foreign investment.

Incheon tower, set to be completed after 2010, will be one of the tallest buildings in the world.

Get in

By plane

Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main international gateway, is on Yeongjong Island, a part of Incheon; see that article for details. The AREX [2] train connects the airport to Gyeyang (20 min, 2600 won), where you can connect to the Incheon subway line. Alternatively, the limousine bus line to Songdo passes through central Incheon, or you can take a taxi for about 41,000 won.

By boat

Incheon Port International Ferry Terminal 1 (Yeonan Budu, 연안부두) [[3] has services to several cities in China, such as Weihai, Dandong, Qingdao and Tianjin.

The largest operator is Jinchon [4], but Incheon Port has full listings on their website [5]. These ferries are similar to miniature cruise lines and are complete with karaoke rooms, Playstation games (for a fee), DVD rentals (private rooms only), and a nightly grill on the back deck. Inside, accommodations are a hit and miss. If you have an economy ticket, which will set you back approximately €180 (roundtrip), you can request a sleeper bunk where you have a considerable amount of privacy. If these are all taken however, the other option for an economy ticket is the sleeping deck where everyone who is crammed on the floor like sardines in a can. To avoid being relegated to the sardine room, get to the terminal early, 2 or 3 hours should be sufficient. This is definitely worth it as the ferry can take as much as 24 hours depending where you go. To make the most of this ferry ride, take a good book, work, and/or a laptop to pass the time.

Locally, there are ferries from Yeongjong Island to Wolmido Marina every 30 minutes. There is also a ferry to Jeju island.

By subway

Seoul subway line 1 links Seoul to Incheon. It has express trains that skip all the minor stops between Incheon and Yongsan. There is also an Incheon line which crosses line one at Bupyeong.

Get around

In addition to the Seoul subway line, the Incheon Rapid Transit Corporation [6] operates a single subway line of its own. The Incheon line runs north-south, and the Seoul line east-west.

Wolmido is not on the subway network, but there are buses from Dongincheon Station every 10 minutes.

See

Incheon's official city flower, the rose, is abundant in the summer, climbing over walls and fences. Even the subway route into Seoul from Incheon is lined with roses and beautifully-tended shrubbery.

  • Chinatown. The only official Chinatown in South Korea. Orignally home to the Chinese merchants in Korea, today it is nothing more than a tourist trap as most of the Chinese fled the country in the 1960's and 1970's due to persecution by then president Park Chung-hee, while those that remain are largely scattered and assimilated into Korean society. The area is located at the end of the main subway line (1 or dark blue) that connects Incheon with nearby Seoul. The main entrance to Chinatown is directly in front of the Incheon Subway Station. The Chinatown is three or four square blocks, the restaurants are squarely aimed at Korean tourists and offer extremely Koreanized takes on Chinese food and most of these restaurants are owned by ethnic Koreans instead of Chinese.
  • Jayu Park (자유공원) Jayu (Freedom) Park is located adjacent to Chinatown. It is most famous as the location of General MacArthur's statue. Also located there is a memorial to the centennial anniversary of U.S. and South Korea relations.
  • Songdo (송도) (it's not Songdo New City--that is Apt Town. you should go Songdo Old City. Sondo Yuwonji is famous in Incheon. you can ask people, find soon. Bus #46,8 etc)

Songdo is the small town city near to Incheon airport. There's a beautiful sea and wonderland and may natural sushi food and a noname's mountain. It's a serene and elegantly natural place.

  • SongDo Doklipkinymkan (송도 독립기념관) This is Korea's independent special door. You can see the Korea's door and a stone about General MacArthur. He fought for Korea's peace and many Koreans thank him for that. Next door , you can see the noname's mountain. There is a little hiking course where you are welcome to walk as you like.
  • SongDo Yuwonji (송도 유원지) This is small wonderland in Songdo. you can see songdo and try bungee jump. and a little woderland plaything here. it's no noise in natural place.
  • Songdo Resort (송도리조트). Has a large ferris wheel which gives good views of the surrounding area. As well as other rides, a swimming lake and a water slide which doubles as a snow sledding slope in winter.
  • Wolmido (월미도). Past a harbor and a plywood factory, Wolmido contains a small but popular park, dominated by a nature walk up a hill, with scientific names have been listed for all of the flowers donated to this area that was decimated by the Incheon landing of UN forces. Past the park is a fairground with several amusement-park rides and numerous food vendors. The harbor area immediately past this makes for a pleasant stroll, with a wide pedestrian sidewalk lined with cafes. From Incheon station, take the #15 bus (2000 won), or it's a 20 minute walk.

Buy

Bupyeong Station (부평역) Line 1 of Seoul subway and Incheon subway line intersect here. There is a large under ground shopping mall. It is a popular place for Korean students to shop and hang out. Above ground, there are additional shops, many Korean restaurants, western restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Outback Steakhouse, Starbucks, Baskin Robbins, and Dunkin Donuts, and a Lotte Mart. There are two Citibanks located here, one in the Arcade, and one several above ground near the far end of the underground mall.

Incheon Bus Terminal Station (인천버스터미널) Incheon's subway line has a the stop for Incheon bus Terminal. This station connects to Shinsaegae, a large name brand mall. The food court many kinds of cuisines and also has a Burger King. The upper two floors are women's clothes, and there is an E-mart attached to the mall.

Eat

Incheon has a Chinatown with many Chinese restaurants. Chinatown is to be found at the last stop on line 1 of the Seoul line.

There are many raw fish restaurants around the port area at Wolmido.

  • SongDo (near to SongDo Doklipkinyamkyan) has many great restaurants. food's taste is very good and you can enjoy lunch set with resonalble price. (original Korea's Rib stake, and sushi etc)

favorite resaurant is "Nagoya" (sushi) and "Kyungbokung" (Rib). and you can walk down "hiltop hotel street" (힐탑호텔골목) than you can see many cheap & natural sushi food restaurants there.

Drink

Incheon has plenty of watering holes, mostly in Bupyeong, where the area behind the Starbuck's Coffee gets more densely packed with drunk youth than anywhere else in Korea.

  • Goose Goose, Bupyeong. A western pub where many English teachers and other foreigners go, although things get rowdy sometimes.
  • Rock Bar, Bupyeong. Very cheap beer, 6,000 won for 2000CC. Watch out for rats in the toilets.
  • Woodstock, Buyeong.
  • 66, Yeonsu.
  • Chunnyue Sarang(천년의 사랑), Songdo hiltop hotel street. Korea's original tea & wine, snack. The master's dress is oriental korea costum and interier is Oriental Calture style.
  • N's Pub, Bupyeong. Small but good atmosphere. Very cheap drinks and beer (but no soju); a recent favorite for both foreigners and koreans.  edit
  • The Shine, Bupyeong. A high-class atmosphere for budget prices, The Shine is a traditional bar in that you have to buy anju (안주, appetizer or meal) with your drinks, but the food is quite good. Drinks are reasonably priced and beer can be purchased in towering disperners which shoot dry ice through a tube and out a chimney on top.  edit
  • Mad Max, Yeonsu Dong. Western Style bar, serves a good rum/coke  edit
  • Rio's Western Bar, Guwol-Dong The Square (Located on the 3rd floor in the same building as the massive King Kong Hof). Great guy who serves a great drink!!!  edit

Sleep

See Yeongjong Island for airport hotel listings.

  • Hong Kong Motel - is immediately next to the Chinatown, and several minute's walk east of the Incheon subway station. Rooms are 25000 Won for a single, or 40000 Won for a double. Rooms are slightly old and small, but clean, and include a PC with Internet.
  • Best Western.
This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!







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