Incheon Chinatown

인천 차이나타운

The Chinese quarter on the old treaty-port hill, and where jajangmyeon is held to have been invented. The streets themselves never close and each shop keeps its own hours, so aim for lunchtime rather than for an opening time.

Language

The paifang gate at the entrance to Incheon Chinatown, its blue plaque reading 中華街, with the shop-lined street climbing the hill beyond it

Place information

Korean name: 인천 차이나타운
Address: 20 Chinatown-ro 59beon-gil, Jemulpo-gu, Incheon
Nearest station: Metro line 1 and the Suin-Bundang Line. The paifang gate (Junghwamun), the emblem of Chinatown, stands opposite the station. · Incheon Station
Opening hours: not published by the operator
Hours notes: The Korea Tourism Organization's entry carries no opening-hours field for the quarter at all. There is no gate; the hours belong to the individual restaurants and shops.
Time needed: 2 hours

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History

Incheon Port opened in 1883. The following year, the Jemulpo area was designated a Qing extraterritorial area, and Chinatown took shape. The area has retained the culture and customs of its Chinese community for more than 120 years.

Most shops once sold goods imported from China; today, many are Chinese restaurants. Second- and third-generation descendants of the early settlers continue to run businesses on these streets, preserving Chinese flavours.

1883
Opening of Incheon Port
Incheon Port opened.
1884
Jemulpo designation
The Jemulpo area was designated a Qing extraterritorial area, and Chinatown took shape.

VisitKorea (Korean) — Incheon Chinatown · Sep 24, 2026

What to see

Red alleys

Red decorations line the alleys, giving them the feel of a visit to China.

Nearby

Incheon Port seen from the Wolmi observatory: mural-painted grain silos, a red cargo ship and quay cranes, with the city stretching away beyond.

Wolmido

The seaward edge of Incheon beside the working port, and the city's oldest day-out strip. Wolmi Culture Street runs 600 metres along the shore, lined with raw-fish restaurants, cafés, fairground rides and portrait artists, with the Moonlight Music Fountain playing on the waterfront in front of it. Behind that, Wolmisan was shut for fifty years as a military post until the city bought it and opened it as a park in 2001; it now holds an observation deck, a reconstructed Korean traditional garden and the Korean Emigration History Museum.

National Museum of World Writing Systems

It is free, it is eight minutes from a subway exit, and it holds a leaf of the 42-line Gutenberg Bible. The building was designed to lie flat against the park rather than stand apart from it, which is why it does not look like a museum from outside.

Incheon Urban History Museum

A museum on how Incheon was built and reshaped as a city. It is 300 m from the National Museum of World Writing Systems, but the two keep different Monday closing rules, so check those first if you plan to visit both.

Songdo Central Park

The water is the park. Everything else here — the gardens, the deer, the boathouses — is arranged along 1.8 km of seawater canal, and the walk is decided by which bank you pick and which bridge you cross.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to eat jajangmyeon here?

The quarter is where the dish is held to have originated, and it is what most visitors come for. The same name covers noticeably different cooking from shop to shop, though, so it is worth deciding what you want rather than simply joining the longest queue.

Is Chinatown the whole visit?

It is one part of the old treaty-port district. Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village sits on the same hill and the open-port streets continue on foot from there, so half a day covers all three in one walk.

How steep is it?

The streets climb the hill and some sections are stepped, so a pushchair or wheelchair needs a chosen route. Comfortable shoes help.

Stories about this place

Incheon's Old Treaty Port and Wolmido in One Day
A one-day route from Incheon Station through Chinatown, Freedom Park, the old treaty-port streets and Sinpo International Market, followed by the Wolmi Sea Train and Wolmido. It also explains Monday closures, museum last admission and the train timetable.
How to Check Opening Hours at Ten Korean Markets, Streets and Landmarks
Ten places across Incheon, Gangneung, Sokcho, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Suwon, sorted by whether one timetable covers the whole place or every shop sets its own. For each one: what to check, where to check it, and what to do if the shop you came for is shut.

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