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Through old ports and quiet borders, Incheon reveals Korea’s layered past

Published: 01 Jul. 2025, 13:33 Updated: 01 Jul. 2025, 15:19

LEE TAE-HEE
[email protected]

Students participating in the Incheon DMZ Tour pose for a photo infront of the General MacArthur statue at Jayu Park in Jung District, Incheon, on June 27. [PARK SANG-MOON]

INCHEON — A closer view of North Korea, history of the 1950-53 Korean War and traces of the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

While the three may seem like something that can only be learned through a textbook, traveling through Incheon is one way to experience all of them in person.

Incheon is one of South Korea's three cities and provinces that border the demilitarized zone (DMZ), along with Gangwon and Gyeonggi. Among the three, Incheon is unique as its seas and islands also border the Northern Limit Line.

Incheon also has Korea's first port to open to international trade in 1883, having both a sorrowful past and glimpses of how Incheon rapidly changed and mixed with various cultures.

To offer a day of learning and activities, Korea JoongAng Daily's K-campus on Friday invited around 70 international students to the Incheon DMZ Tour, hosted by the Incheon Tourism Organization.

"Incheon has served as a gateway between Korea and the world since the opening of the Jemulpo Port in 1883, and has today grown into a leading global city with a world-class international airport and seaport," said Baig Hyeon, president of the Incheon Tourism Organization. "In particular, our history of the Incheon landing operation, Ganghwa DMZ area and five Yellow Sea islands are a meaningful asset that preserves the history of the Korean Peninsula."

"We hope the trip can be more than a sightseeing experience for the international students, and a meaningful time to learn the value of peace and even spread the message of peace around the world."

While Incheon has the hustle and bustle of a big city, visitors can also see a blend of the past and present as they venture to the Open Port Area in Jung District, Incheon.

Following the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, also known as the Treaty of Ganghwa, the Joseon Dynasty was forced to open three ports to Japan, which also included Incheon's Jemulpo Port in 1883. Other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France and Russia also signed treaties to start trade, with foreign consulates and residential areas forming in today's Open Port Area.

Various Japanese and Western-style buildings were built, with some of them remaining to this day.

The Incheon Open Port Museum, which now features exhibits about Incheon's open port era, is housed in the former building of the Japanese First Bank's Incheon branch built in 1883. Although the interior has been renovated, the museum still uses windows, pillars and vaults from the open port days.

Students on June 27 look at a diorama of buildings built at the Open Port Area after Incheon opened its port in 1883. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A miniature of the Palmido Lighthouse, Korea's first lighthouse that was built in 1903 to guide ships engaging in trade, and information about the customs process can be seen at the museum. Visitors can also see streets recreated to look like ones in the 1880s and '90s, as well as photos capturing the period.

Daebul Hotel, Korea's first Western-style hotel built in 1889, can also be found just a few minutes away from the Incheon Open Port Museum. The hotel is now a museum.

"I did know a bit about the Japanese conquest here, but I didn't know the Chinese were also involved," said Stefany Chacon. "This is my first time in Incheon, and it was surprising that there is still a lot of influence such as the architecture in Chinatown — and I didn't even know there was a Chinatown either."

"I learned a lot, and I personally would like to keep researching the area."

Chinatown was formed in Incheon after the area was designated as a Chinese concession in 1884. The area is now home to various ethnic Chinese in Korea, bustling with Chinese restaurants and shops decorated in colorful red and gold.

Students on June 27 take a photo infront of a paeru, or main gate, that connects the Jayu Park and Incheon Chinatown. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Jayu Park, located around five minutes by foot from the Open Port Area, is another place people can learn more about Incheon's history.

While Jayu Park blooms with colorful flowers and lush trees during the summer, the park is also a place to commemorate heroes of the Incheon Landing Operation during the Korean War.

North Korea rapidly pushed southward to the Busan area following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, but South Korea was able to turn the tide through the Incheon Landing Operation under the lead of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur. The amphibious landing, which took place on Sept. 15 and 16 in 1950, successfully landed UN troops at Incheon and helped capture Seoul.

To celebrate the pivotal point in the war, a statue of General MacArthur was installed at Jayu Park on Sept. 15, 1957.

Students explore Jayu Park on June 27, with the statue of General MacArthur in the back. [PARK SANG-MOON]

While South Korea was able to push back, the war ended in 1953 with South and North signing an armistice and drawing a demarcation line at the 38th parallel.

Incheon is one of the cities close to the DMZ, with the Ganghwa Peace Observatory in Ganghwado a key venue people can visit to get a view of North Korea.

The observatory is just 2.3 kilometers (1.43 miles) away from North Korea, showing a view of Gaepung County in North Hwanghae Province. While streams of the Han, Imjin and Ryesong Rivers run between the observatory and Gaepung County, visitors can see the village's schools, houses and farms even with their naked eyes when the weather is clear.

While fog was lingering due to the morning drizzle that fell in Incheon on Friday, students could still see outlines of buildings and mountains in North Korea with their naked eye. Some also pulled out coins to use the telescope, trying to get a closer view.

Students look out to North Korea through a telescope at the Ganghwa Peace Observatory during a trip on June 27. [PARK SANG-MOON]

"It just feels normal because you can see some people working in the fields and going through their daily lives, but some expect to see something really different from the things we hear on the news," said Nisha. "But when you see them in real life, it's just normal people."

"It's been a year since I came to Korea and my life has been focused in Seoul, and it feels really nice coming to another city and getting to know about the history."

At the first floor of the observatory, visitors can write messages at the Room to Wish for Unification. Hundreds of message cards were hung on the room's walls and a treelike structure in the middle.

Students participating in the tour also wrote messages, with many hoping for a unified Korea or for everyone to be happy.

"I wrote that it would be nice if we were together," said Namitha, hanging a note up in the room with her friends. "After looking out to North Korea at the observatory, my question was why are they divided like this, and why they can't come together."

Students read messages hung up at the Room to Wish for Unification at the Ganghwa Peace Observatory on June 27. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Another place in Incheon that students visited to catch a glimpse of the history of the Korean War is Daeryong Market in Gyodongdo, just 2.5 kilometers away from North Korea.

The traditional market was made by North Koreans who left their hometown in Yeonbaek County, Hwanghae Province, and took refuge in Gyodongdo during the Korean War.

The refugees were not able to return home after South and North Korea were divided after the war and settled down on the island while creating Daeryong Market, which resembles the Yeonbaek Market back home.

Various North Korean food can be bought at the market, such as gangaji tteok, a type of injeolmi (rice cake coated with bean flour) with a North Korean twist. The injeolmi gets its name from the Korean word for puppy, pronounced gangaji, because the rice cake is bunched up in a way that looks like a small puppy.

While traditional injeolmi is glutinous rice powdered with bean flour, the North Korean adaptation puts red bean paste inside.

The origin dates back to the Japanese colonial period, when the Japanese took a big portion of rice grown in Korea to use for military provisions. Koreans were prohibited from making food using rice, such as injeolmi or rice-based alcoholic drinks, but people would make injeolmi while putting red bean paste inside and saying it was a different type of food.

Free samples of gangaji tteok, or North Korean-style rice cakes with red bean paste inside, are offered at Daeryong Market on June 27. [LEE TAE-HEE]

North Korean-style mandu (dumplings) are also sold at the market. Although North Korean mandu traditionally uses pheasant meat as a substitute for pricey chicken meat, those sold at Daeryong Market use chicken meat, as circumstances are better today.

Locally farmed produce, such as potatoes or onions, can also be found in the market.

"I bought some potato chips at the market, and I tried some free samples of fruit and drinks, which were really good as well," said Maria Sy. "I think Daeryong Market is very different from traditional markets I've visited back in Asan, and there's a much more countryside vibe with some products that I haven't seen before, like the snacks I bought."

Apart from the market, Gyodongdo has venues like Hwagae Garden, which also shows a view of North Korea through its observatory on Mount Hwagae. The garden also tells the story of King Yeonsangun of the Joseon Dynasty, who was exiled to the island and died in 1506.

While Incheon may have been just a seaside city, or a place international students pass by as they enter Korea through Incheon International Airport, many students went back having learned the historical importance of Incheon in Korea's peace and security.

"I thought that the area bordering the DMZ is only reachable through Paju because I didn't know that there were sites in Incheon, and it was also interesting to see how Gyodongdo is so close to North Korea," said Vivin Aldyanti. "It was a new experience for me, and I think it would be good to help foreigners in Korea know more about Incheon's peace and security sites because not many foreigners know about it."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]