(인천, 仁川), also Inchon, is in South Korea on the coast directly to the west of Seoul.
Understand
A politically independent city of 2.5 million, Incheon is in practice largely a suburb of Seoul. In 1950, the city was the site of the Inchon Landing by American forces, a decisive battle in the Korean War.
Incheon serves as a transportation hub by both air and sea, with a massive harbor and Korea's main international airport. Several nearby islands, notably Yeongjong Island and Ganghwa Island, are also within city limits.
Newer neighborhoods, built on land reclaimed from the sea, are practically independent mini-cities with shopping, schools, housing, and industry. These newer areas pride themselves on being clean, modern, and safe, and compete for foreign investment.
Incheon tower, set to be competed after 2010, will be one of the tallest buildings int the world.
Get in
By plane
Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main international gateway, is on Yeongjong Island, a part of Incheon. The airport and its connectivity are covered in detail in the Seoul article.
By boat
There are ships to Incheon from the Chinese ports of Weihai, Dalian, Qingdao and Tianjin. Locally, there are ferries from Yeongjong Island to Wolmido Marina every 30 minutes. There is also a ferry to Jeju island.
By subway
Seoul subway line 1 links Seoul to Incheon. It has express trains that skip all the minor stops between Incheon and Yongsan. There is also an Incheon line which crosses line one at Bupyeong.
Get around
In addition to the Seoul subway line, the Incheon Rapid Transit Corporation operates a single subway line of its own. The Incheon line runs north-south, and the Seoul line east-west.
Wolmido is not on the subway network, but there are buses from Dongincheon Station every 10 minutes.
See
Incheon's official city flower, the rose, is abundant in the summer, climbing over walls and fences. Even the subway route into Seoul from Incheon is lined with roses and beautifully-tended shrubbery.
Do
