Until the very last moment of finalising our itinerary, Incheon was just an airport for us. In fact, we had booked our stay right next to the airport and planned to visit the nearby beaches before calling it a relaxed evening ahead of our flight back home the next day. But somehow, while browsing hotels, we came across a beautiful property in Incheon City and decided to spend our last night in Korea there instead.
Incheon Airport and Incheon City are about 30 km apart, and the Uber ride took us around 30 minutes. So in reality, it was just a matter of waking up half an hour earlier than we would have if we had stayed near the airport. But what we got to experience in exchange for that small effort cannot be measured in the same units.
This is the story of Incheon, and why I genuinely think it deserves a place on your South Korea itinerary.
Incheon: Beyond the Airport
Incheon is generally known for its international airport. It is the gateway to South Korea for most travellers, who generally head directly to Seoul or Busan depending on their itinerary. But Incheon is much more than just an airport. It is the third-largest city in South Korea, after Seoul and Busan. Incheon was also the place chosen by the American forces for their surprise landing during the Korean War.
On our trip to South Korea, we explored Seoul, Busan and Incheon. And out of all three, Incheon felt the most Korean to me. Surprisingly, everything was less costly in Incheon, and there were hardly any tourists around. Even the restaurants we visited did not have English menus. Incheon offered us an opportunity to experience South Korea from a different angle.
The beaches in Incheon have low tides for most of the time and are not particularly suited for a typical beach experience. For beaches, Busan is the place to be in South Korea. Incheon instead offers a sneak peek into the daily lives of Korean people.
Incheon has a lot of places one can visit, but with our limited time, we decided to just visit Songdo Central Park and Triple Street.
We first went to Songdo Central Park, which is very large and quite beautiful. There are lots of activities to do in and around the park. We happened to be lucky that when we reached, there was a dance performance by the Incheon City Dance Theatre.
The cultural performances were really good, and I am so grateful that we got to witness them. Being able to see these live cultural performances was an absolute highlight of our trip, especially since these are the kinds of performances we generally do not get to see on television.
After the park, we decided to go to Triple Street, which is a place for food and shopping. There are lots of restaurants, and surprisingly, we did not see an English menu in any of them. That itself gives an idea of how few international tourists visit Incheon. Triple Street is a very lively place, with performances and Korean people coming with their families and friends to hang out.
Triple Street also has lots of places to shop. We happened to make one of our best purchases from South Korea here itself. A small insulated stainless steel mug by Kooza. I think it is one of the most-used things in our home. In fact, I am sipping my coffee from the same mug as I write this article.
Triple Street is connected to Hyundai Premium Outlets. Unfortunately, we reached around 8:30–9:00 PM, and it was already closing.
Our stopover in Incheon before our return flight was absolutely worth it. I wish we had more time to explore the city, but I am glad we decided to include Incheon in our itinerary. And after experiencing it ourselves, I am quite certain that if you are planning a trip to South Korea, Incheon deserves more than just your airport arrival and departure.
