'It was surprisingly educational': Foreigners enjoy chicken, beer and drones at Incheon's McGang Party

Food & Travel

Published: 26 May. 2024, 16:25 Updated: 27 May. 2024, 16:10

'It was surprisingly educational': Foreigners enjoy chicken, beer and drones at Incheon's McGang Party

Tourists enjoy free beer and dakgangjeong (glazed chicken nuggets) during the 1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District, Incheon, on Saturday. [YONHAP]

INCHEON — As Saturday's early summer sun hung lazily over the Yellow Sea, around ten thousand people from around the world gaily roamed an asphalt yard along the Incheon Port, about the size of five football fields, scattered with giant cargo cranes. Some sported traditional attire, from Chinese cheongsam to Vietnamese ao dai.

The multicultural mosaic was a mirror of the year 1883, 141 years ago, when foreign vessels dropped anchor at the western seaport for the very first time.

The Incheon Port's opening marked the beginning of the cultural sponge that Korea is today. In the 1880s, it was a rare aperture through which many Western goods, music and other cultural elements entered. It was also the time when Joseon, otherwise known as the ancient Korean government, established its first diplomatic relations with the United States and Britain.

Traditional Korean music parade during the 1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District, Incheon on Saturday [LEE JIAN]

The second annual 1883 McGang Party at Incheon Sangsang Platform in Jung District pays homage to this historic year by inviting foreigners to gather — with the promise of free food.

Saturday's event, hosted by the Incheon Tourism Organization and the Incheon Metropolitan City government, drew 10,394 attendees from some 10 countries including China, Vietnam, the United States and Russia, the Incheon Tourism Organization said Sunday. Last year, some 3,000 reportedly participated.

“We wanted to recreate that scene of cultural exchange because the biggest merit of this old downtown part of Incheon lies in its historical significance,” said Lee Ju-hee, the Incheon Tourism Organization’s Marketing Director. “The older cities, in truth, get less attention these days compared to newer areas like Songdo, and we hope to change that through hosting the McGang Party that leverages Incheon’s history and food.”

As many of the festival's attendees are scheduled to stay in Incheon for at least two days, the city government expects this year’s McGang Party to create around 14 billion won ($10.2 million) in economic value over the one-day period.

The star of the party was undoubtedly the Incheon staple dakgangjeong, 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of which were served free per person, along with a can of Incheon’s locally brewed beer or soda. The “Mc” in the festival's title references the Korean word for beer, and “gang” refers to dakgangjeong.

Tourists enjoy free beer and dakgangjeong (glazed chicken nuggets) during the 1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District, Incheon, on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Dakgangjeong is Korea’s version of chicken nuggets with a sweet and spicy glaze. It is said to have originated from Incheon’s traditional markets as an alternative to the fried chicken that had arisen shortly prior. Customers getting takeout complained that the chicken got soggy by the time they got home, so Incheon eateries resorted to coating the fried bird with jochung, or rice syrup, an ancient hack among Korean cooks to keep banchan (side dishes) like anchovies crispy for the maximum amount of time.

Dakgangjeong at Incheon's Sinpo International Market [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Incheon Tourism Organization and the city government reportedly prepared 6,000 chickens worth of dakgangjeong for Saturday’s event, the result of a collaboration with dakgangjeong purveyors at Incheon Shingi Market and Sinpo International Market.

“I’ve lived in Korea for six years now and knew about chimaek [fried chicken and beer], but I didn’t know that this type of chicken [dakgangjeong] was from Incheon,” said Camila Lopez, 29, from Columbia. “It’s delicious. I really liked it.”

“We’ve paid a lot of care to provide the dakgangjeong in its prime state,” said Lee. “It was all freshly made and timely delivered to the site.”

Of the event’s total budget of 260 million won, some 80 million won alone went into the dakgangjeong and beer.

The Incheon spice was slightly overwhelming for many festivalgoers — but spirits nevertheless remained high.

“They were spicy — I think my lips are a little bit swollen!” said Anna Moss, 32, from Germany. “I wish there had been more flavors, but [the spice] definitely gets you drinking that beer.”

Chicken aside, the festival had more than a dozen food trucks and cultural booths, including a traditional calligraphy station, makgeolli (rice wine) tasting tables, and even a one-on-one plastic surgery consultation tent.

A K-beauty booth set up for the1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District on Saturday [LEE JIAN]

Moss and her friend Nicole Bloemer, 31, also from Germany, were among the first people to arrive at the McGang Party. More than three hours into the festival, they weren't yet bored.

“There is so much to enjoy,” Moss said. “We‘ve been eating lots of food and talking to people — we just had a fun talk with an ahjussi [middle-aged man]!”

Lopez stopped at the K-beauty booth to refresh her makeup after she and her husband got their free dakgangjeong.

“I feel like it is a very foreigner-friendly environment, and I was glad most people could speak English at the booths,” said Lopez’s husband, Alvaro Principe, 27, from Peru.

K-pop boy band Dustin interacts with fans during the 1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District on Saturday [LEE JIAN]

Later into the evening, the crowd shifted to the main stage area as K-pop boy band Dustin pumped up the mood with energetic performances. The festival also featured more mellow shows by singers The One, Punch and Park Da-hye, who performed the soundtracks of popular Korean dramas including “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (2016), as well as traditional performances like buchaechum, or Korean fan dance, taekwondo demonstrations, K-pop cover dances and a DJ show.

A swarm of drones filled the night sky with the word “Incheon” and more shapes in synchrony, bringing the event to a grand finale for the day.

Drone show during the 1883 McGang Party at Sangsang Platform in Jung District on Saturday [INCHEON TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

“I actually learned a lot about Incheon’s historical significance as a port city during the festival today,” said 22-year-old Ivy Zhang, a Chinese national living in Songdo, Incheon. She'd come to the McGang Party with her friend who lives in Seoul. “We were drawn in by the free food, but it was surprisingly educational.”

She continued, “I find Incheon just as, if not more interesting than Seoul. I can’t wait to take [my friend] to Incheon’s traditional markets and eat the best jjajangmyeon [black bean noodles] and jjambbong [spicy seafood noodle soup] in Chinatown tomorrow!”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]