Incheon

• 1. Introduction

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  Incheon, a city on the northwestern coast of South Korea, held just 4,700 people when it flung open its port to the world in 1883. Today, roughly 3 million people call it home. That transformation is the central question this documentary explores: how a small coastal settlement became South Korea's third-largest city and one of the driving forces behind the country's rise as a modern economy.

  The answers begin in the mud and tides of the Yellow Sea, run through colonial occupations and a cold-war amphibious assault, and arrive at a futuristic island city built on reclaimed land. Incheon's story is not a single drama but a series of overlapping reinventions, each one stranger and more consequential than the last.

• 2. Names and Kingdoms

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  The earliest written record linking a settlement to this place dates to 475 AD, during the reign of King Jangsu of Goguryeo. The location was called Michuhol, and scholars believe it sat on what is now known as Munhak Hill.

  Over the centuries the name shifted with every dynasty. During the Goryeo era the city was known as Gyeongwon or Inju. It was not until 1413, during the Joseon period, that the name Incheon was formally adopted. That name has held ever since, though the city acquired additional identities along the way. The historical name Jemulpo, also romanized as Chemulpo, was little used until the port opened in 1883. Under Japanese colonial rule, the city was known internationally as Jinsen, derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the same characters. The romanized spelling Inchon persisted in English until South Korea adopted a new official romanization system in 2000, at which point the current spelling, Incheon, became standard.

  The physical center of the city shifted too. Old Incheon was anchored at Gwangyo-dong, where the prefecture office and the local Confucian academy stood. Two of the original buildings from that prefecture office survive today, now housed within Munhak Elementary School, while a newly built reconstruction of the complex stands directly across from Munhak Baseball Stadium.

• 3. The Port That Changed Everything

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  Jemulpo was the name most foreigners knew when ships first began docking in 1883. The opening of the port did not just bring trade; it relocated the center of the city. Commerce and population pulled away from the old administrative hub at Gwangyo and settled around the new waterfront at Jemulpo.

  The port's strategic position made it the stage for a dramatic early chapter in modern Asian history. At Chemulpo Bay, the first shots of the Russo-Japanese War were fired. Decades later, on the 4th of July 1950, North Korean troops occupied Incheon in the opening phase of the Korean War. The city became a pivot point again that September, when United Nations forces landed at Incheon in what became known as the Battle of Inchon. The operation aimed to relieve pressure on the Pusan Perimeter and open a northward offensive. It succeeded. Incheon was recaptured on the 19th of September 1950, a decisive UN victory that reshaped the entire course of the war.

  By 1981, Incheon's standing had grown enough that the national government granted it Directly Governed City status on the 1st of July of that year, formally separating it from Gyeonggi Province. Further boundary expansions followed in 1989 and again in 1995, when Ganghwa and Ongjin counties were annexed to the city.

• 4. Free Zone and Songdo

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  In August 2003, the South Korean government designated Incheon as the country's first Free Economic Zone. The Incheon Free Economic Zone, known as IFEZ, covers a total area of 51,739 acres across three distinct districts: Songdo, Cheongna, and Yeongjong Island. The goal was to create centers for logistics, international business, leisure, and tourism oriented toward the Northeast Asian region, while improving conditions for foreign enterprises and expatriate workers.

  Songdo International City is the most ambitious piece of this plan. Development began in 1994 on reclaimed land, and the city was designed as a hub for international business, trade, technology, and environmentally conscious urban living. The planned population for Songdo stands at 252,000 persons across a development area of 13,162 acres. Samsung chose Songdo as the destination for new investment in its bio industry. That bio sector has grown into a significant force: Incheon's total bio production capacity reached 330 kiloliters per year, placing it second in the world alongside San Francisco. Plans to expand that capacity to 510 kiloliters upon completion in 2018 were projected to push Incheon to first place globally.

  Cheongna, on the mainland near Yeongjong Island, is focused on entertainment and leisure. Its planned population is 90,000 persons across 4,394 acres. Yeongjong International City, centered around the airport, spans 34,183 acres and aims to blend logistics with residential, business, and tourism functions. The Green Climate Fund, an international institution, is among the global organizations that have established a presence in Songdo.

• 5. Airport, Port, and Rail

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  Incheon International Airport is South Korea's primary international gateway, and by 2015 it ranked as the world's 22nd busiest airport by passenger traffic, processing 49,412,750 passengers that year. A total of 305,446 flights moved through the airport in 2015, averaging 837 flights daily. Korea's two main carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, together handled 50.9% of those flights. The opening of Terminal 2 in December 2017 added further capacity.

  The Airport Express line, known as AREX, connects Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station via Gimpo International Airport. The Incheon-Gimpo section opened in March 2007, and the full extension to Seoul Station was completed in December 2010. Travelers can choose an express service that covers the full route in 43 minutes, or an all-station service taking 53 minutes. KTX high-speed rail service was added to the AREX line on the 30th of June 2014.

  Incheon's seaport is the second largest in South Korea after Busan. Its International Passenger Terminal runs ferry services to five Chinese cities: Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin, Dandong, and Weihai. The volume of cargo and passenger traffic qualifies Incheon as a Large-Port Metropolis under the Southampton System of Port-City classification. Within the city, Incheon Subway Line 2 opened in July 2016, running 29.2 kilometers across 27 stations in an automated configuration from Geomdan Oryu station to Unyeon station.

• 6. International Presence

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  On the 27th of February 2007, Incheon declared itself an "English City" and launched the Incheon Free English Zone program. The official slogan was "Smile with English," and the stated ambition was to make the city as proficient in English as Singapore, positioning Incheon as a commercial and business hub for northeast Asia.

  The city hosts campuses from universities on several continents, including George Mason University Korea Campus, Ghent University Global Campus, the University of Utah Asia Campus, and SUNY South Korea. Yonsei University also operates an international campus in the city.

  On the diplomatic and cultural side, Incheon has developed sister-city relationships with more than two dozen cities across Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. The 17th Asian Games were held in Incheon beginning on the 19th of September 2014. The games brought with them the Yeonhui Cricket Ground, the first purpose-built cricket stadium in South Korea. UNESCO designated Incheon as World Book Capital for the year 2015. Incheon also hosted the Global Fair and Festival in August 2009 at the Songdo District, an event open for 80 days from the 7th of August to the 25th of October, drawing global institutions, corporations, musicians, and artists. The city's Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, first held in 2004, expanded to welcome international artists in its subsequent editions in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

• 7. Places and Landmarks

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  Jeondeungsa holds the distinction of being the oldest Buddhist temple in Korea, and it sits within Incheon's administrative reach. Jayu Park, established in 1888, carries its own claim to precedence as the first Western-style park in Korea. It is home to a statue of General Douglas MacArthur and a memorial marking the centennial of U.S.-Korea relations.

  Incheon Chinatown is Korea's only official Chinatown, situated across from Incheon Station and adjacent to Jayu Park. Wolmido, a former military site used during the Incheon Landing, has been converted into a tourist area with a boardwalk, an amusement park, and seafood restaurants. The Ara Canal connects the Han River to the Yellow Sea, and its banks include parks and a popular cycling path.

  Bupyeong Station hosts what the American World Record Academy recognized in 2014 as the largest underground shopping center in the world by store count: 1,408 stores spread across 31,692 square meters, as recorded by the National Archives of Korea. The Incheon Football Stadium, also known as Sungui Arena, was completed in 2012 with a capacity of 20,891 spectators and serves as the home ground for Incheon United FC, which was founded in 2003. The Munhak Sports Complex served as Incheon's venue for the 2002 Football World Cup and remains the site of both a football and a baseball stadium.