Chinatown can be found everywhere in the world and no doubt South Korea has no exception. Incheon Chinatown is the South Korea’s only official Chinatown. Also, It is the largest Chinatown in South Korea. Incheon Chinatown is located in Jung-gu and just a minute away from Incheon Station. Incheon Chinatown was established in 1884 and offers the best experience of Chinese culture since then. Today, the residents of Chinatown are mostly 2nd or 3rd generation descendants of the early Chinese settlers.
Walking out from Incheon Station, you can see the remarkable Chinatown entrance which features an impressive 11-meter high Chinese-style gateway.
Entering Chinatown, you will feel as if you are drawn into another space. The Chinese style street is decorated in bright red and gold tone. Looking at all those red lanterns decorations and Chinese lamp posts immerse myself into the beauty of Chinese culture. Walking down the Chinatown Street, you can find a lot of restaurants, food stalls and Chinese merchandise shops.
Tastes of Chinatown
A trip to Chinatown is not complete without exploring authentic restaurants and getting a taste of Chinese cuisine.
Lucky China 럭키차이나
We visited a Chinese restaurant called Lucky China. We ordered hayan jja jang myeon (white bean sauce noodle), jja jang myeon (black bean sauce noodle), jjam ppong (spicy seafood noodle) and kkotge saeu jjam ppong (spicy seafood noodle with blue crab and shrimp). The price of menu is affordable and the food tastes great.
The white bean sauce noodle is one of the main signature dish of Lucky China. The dish features noodles with fermented white bean sauce which includes shrimp, pork and vegetables. It has a special and clean taste which I have never tried out before.
Address: 47-1, ChinaTown-Ro, Incheon
Website: luckychina.co.kr
Junggukjegwa Dam 중국제과담
Junggukjegwa Dam is a specialty shop well known for mooncakes and feng li shu (pineapple cakes). What’s so special about their pineapple cakes is that there are four flavors available here, pineapples, melon, strawberry and even mango! Besides, the shop also sells other Chinese snacks like Gonggalppang (crunchy balloon bread) as well. I bought some nougat crackers as well.
Address: 55, Chinatown-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon
Hongdubyeong 홍두병
Hongdubyeong is a Taiwanese style pancake stuffed with filling. There is a wide variety of flavours available. I had the red bean, chocolate and green tea pancakes. The chocolate one was heavenly delicious.
Don’t feel surprised if there’s a long waiting line. Good treats are always worth the wait.
Address: 10-13, Bukseong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Incheon
Jjajangmyeon Museum
The Jjajangmyeon Museum was opened on 28 April 2012 to keep the history of Jajangmyeon’s birth.
It is said that Jjajangmyeon was instroduced in Gonghwachun, a Chinese restaurant run by an immigrant from the Shandong Province of China in incheon Chinatown back in 1905.
You can find out more about this popular Korean-Chinese noodle dish and history of Gonghwachun here.
Address: 56-14, China town-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea
Nearby Tourist Attractions
Other than Chinatown, we also paid visit to adjacent tourist attractions like Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village, Incheon Art Platform and Gaehangjang (Open Port). All these attraction can be easily reach within walking distance from Chinatown.
