Enjoying traditional and modern Incheon

A friend who has been to Incheon told me that it was a fascinating city.

She said we could travel through time along the Gwandong modern architecture street or experience “Little China” in China Town.

She talked about Shinpo Dakgangjeong, a restaurant that serves “dakgangjeong,” a sweet and spicy fried chicken dish, and Gonghwachun, a restaurant that serves “jjajangmyeon,” a noodle dish with black soybean paste sauce.

Then, she told us, we could go on fun rides at the amusement park or enjoy water sports in the sea.

Hearing about all of the things we can do in Incheon was enough. My friend Liu Jing and I packed our bags and rode the subway from Seoul to Incheon.

China Town: Korea’s “Little China”

China Town has been around since the Incheon Port opened in 1883, when the Chinese started settling in the city.

Today, China Town has about 500 Chinese-Korean residents and features many Chinese restaurants that serve Incheon delicacies and stores selling “qipao” (a Chinese dress), Chinese tea and accessories.

Jjajangmyeon, the dish I mentioned earlier that is a favorite among Koreans, was first created in this city. It is my favorite food in Korea.

This Korean dish is different from its Chinese counterpart. The sauce made with black soybean paste, onion and pork is less salty than the Chinese version. The noodles are sweeter than in the Chinese version as well. The dish is so tasty and affordable that it has become some sort of national food for Koreans, young and old alike.

There are many places that serve the popular dish, but the best places are in Incheon’s China Town.

China Town has many Chinese restaurants lined along its streets.

My friend and I headed to Gonghwachun, which was the first restaurant in the country to serve jjajangmyeon.

This 100-year-old restaurant has over 100 dishes to choose from, but its specialty, of course, is jjajangmyeon. The restaurant’s jjajangmyeon lives up to its popularity and tastes extraordinary.

The restaurant is also very true to Chinese tradition — it was decorated in red and gold, and we were served Chinese traditional tea, which made us feel as if we were in China, my home country.

About 200 meters away from the restaurant was the Jjajangmyeon Museum, which provides information and exhibits artifacts about the history of jjajangmyeon, such as its price when it was first sold in Korea, the first jjajangmyeon delivery service and other interesting facts.

Jjajangmyeon originated from the noodle dish with vegetables and soy sauce that Chinese laborers in Korea ate over 100 years ago. The museum provides a brief history of how the dish transformed into the popular Korean version that we know today.

The stairway that stretches alongside the museum is called “the China-Japan borderline stairway.”

In the past, Incheon was an entry point for foreigners, so the city designated areas with extraterritoriality for merchants from all around the world. China Town was, as the name suggests, for people from China.

The area, however, happened to be beside that for people from Japan, so to avoid any unnecessary disputes, the Chinese and Japanese decided to demarcate their respective areas with the stairway.

At the top of the stairway is a stone monument of Confucius. The street that starts from the stairway is the famous Samgukji Mural Street. (“Samgukji” is a book about the history of the Three Kingdoms in China.)

The murals along the street show paintings of Yubi, Gwanwoo and Jangbi, the three heroes in the book, as well as notable events from the book. The murals are very detailed, and by the time I reached the end of the street, I felt as if I’ve read the whole book.

Incheon Art Platform

Not far from the stairway is a cultural complex called the Incheon Art Platform. It’s an art space that used to be a warehouse in the late 19th century.

Now, the space is a comprehensive cultural complex consisting of 13 buildings that include a creative studio, an archive, an art gallery and a performance hall.

The traditional red-bricked building and the modern additions harmonize well in terms of design.

I was really looking forward to visiting the art space, but on the day we visited — Monday — we found out that it was closed.

This is something visitors should keep in mind should they want to see the Incheon Art Platform.

Gwandong modern architecture street

About two minutes away from China Town lies the Gwandong modern architecture street, which also provides a modern-day history of Incheon.

The various buildings on the street, such as churches, shops and banks, were built according to the architectural style of the countries that traded with Korea through the port city of Incheon. Thus, walking along this street makes you feel like you’re traveling back to the 19th century.

The building that houses the Incheon Open Port Museum used to house the first Japanese bank, and the contemporary architecture exhibition hall used to be the location of the 18th Japanese bank.

Meanwhile, the office for Incheon Metropolitan City’s food business department used to be the building for the 58th Japanese bank.

In addition to these landmarks, visitors also need to see the buildings for Hongyemun, Dapdong Catholic Church, Jemulpo fraternity and the first Anglican Church of Korea, which later became the Naedong Anglican Church.

The Gwandong street, where the Incheon Jung-gu district office is located, is where you can see all the contemporary architectural buildings. Freedom Park, the first Western-style park in Korea, is also located on this street.

Shinpo International Market

Incheon boasts both modern and traditional elements. The Shinpo International Market is about 10 minutes away from the Gwandong modern architecture street.

It is famous for the five-color “mandu” (dumplings), “jjolmyeon” (chewy noodles) and “dakgangjung” (fried chicken in spicy, sweet glutinous sauce). Dakgangjung is the most well-known Incheon delicacy, so there are many stores at the market that serve the dish.

They say the best dakgangjung is served at restaurants where locals go. Finding those restaurants is one of the joys of visiting Shinpo International Market, and tasting dakgangjung is another.

Shinpo Dakgangjung is the most popular store inside the market. In addition to the crispy chicken stir-fried in spicy and sweet sauce, the store also serves the famous Shinpo sundae, which they have been selling since 1978, and the “gonggalpang,” a crispy, sweet bread that’s hollow in the middle.

Wolmido Island

The island closest to Incheon is Wolmido — do means island in Korean. A 10-minute taxi ride from Shinpo market will take you to Wolmido, known for its oceanside amusement park.

Visitors to Wolmido can best enjoy the ocean view while on a cruise ship, which can also be quite romantic.

The seafood in Wolmido is not to be missed, especially the grilled clams, which I personally recommend. The grilled clams or “jogegui” are barbecued on charcoal. I have never tasted clams cooked this way before, so it was a fascinating experience for me. We grilled the clams ourselves, wearing gloves to avoid getting burned.

While I was grilling the clams, I realized that one of them wouldn’t open even after being on the grill for a long time. I thought it was rotten, but the restaurant owner said it was just being stubborn.

My Land, a small amusement park on Wolmido, is famous for its scary Viking ride and is worth trying for those who are adventurous.

The Disco Pang Pang is another popular ride on Wolmido. People sit around a big circle that turns round and round and hold on to the handles on the ride to avoid falling off.

Songdo Central Park

Visitors must cross the Incheon Grand Bridge to travel from Incheon International Airport to Seoul. It’s the longest bridge in Korea and the fifth longest in the world.

I cross this bridge whenever I come to Korea, but I had never really seen it up close until my friend and I decided to visit the observatory at the top of the bridge on our way to Songdo Central Park.

Due to the harsh weather conditions, it was difficult to get a clear view from the bridge, but nevertheless, we saw that the scenery was more beautiful than we thought.

After visiting the observatory, we went to the central park in Songdo, which was where Korean rapper Psy’s music video as well as TV programs and dramas such as “Running Man” and “That Winter, Wind Blew” were filmed.

Songdo Central Park is the first park in the country to let seawater inside. It was built as part of a reclamation project. The park has an area called “Rabbit Island” that shows rabbits, reindeers as well as other animals.

Because the park is surrounded by the ocean, visitors can ride water taxis, Canadian canoes and family boats. A family boat runs very slowly (almost at the same speed as walking), so it is recommended for people who want a leisurely view of the park and the water.

Travelling to Incheon was very easy because it’s close to Seoul and is accessible via the subway. I recommend going there to anyone looking for a quick, enjoyable one-day trip or a weekend stay. By Zhu Yutong