Incheon

Chinese settlers gathered here after the Qing concession opened in 1884, and an overseas Chinese school and temple remain. Beyond the paifang gate, Chinese restaurants and hollow-bread stalls climb the slope. Weekend lunch means long queues at the famous ones.

The old building of Gonghwachun, credited with first selling jajangmyeon, is now a museum. It shows a 1960s Chinese restaurant kitchen, delivery boxes and the dish's price through the decades. No noodles are sold inside; eat across the street.

One flight of stone steps split the Qing concession on the left from the Japanese on the right, and the houses flanking it still divide into Chinese and Japanese styles. At the top stands a Confucius statue sent from Qingdao; Jayu Park lies beyond.

It began in 1888 as the park of the foreign concessions, so it is counted as Korea's first Western-style park. On the hilltop a statue of General MacArthur, who led the Incheon landing, faces the harbour. In April the whole slope flowers with cherry blossom.

An elevated rail line 6.1km long, opened in 2019, circling the Wolmido shore. It crawls along, giving a view down over the lock gates, the port and the sea. Step off at a middle station for the culture street and catch a later train.

A small inlet packed tight with stalls of salted seafood, blue crab and fish. Live crab is best in spring and autumn, when crowds peak. Have fish sliced at a stall, then a nearby restaurant charges a setting fee for a table and sauces.

In the middle of Songdo, a new city built on reclaimed land, a park with a canal fed by seawater. Boats and water taxis move between the towers. After dark the lit buildings reflect in the water, and more people walk it at night than by day.

In a field on Ganghwa island, two upright stones hold up a huge capstone in a table dolmen, World Heritage since 2000. It is among the larger table types in Korea and stands well above head height. Allow just over an hour each way by car from central Incheon.

A sandy beach on the far west of Yeongjong island, about 20 minutes from Incheon Airport by car. Over the Yellow Sea it watches the evening sun go down into the water, with grilled clam restaurants along the front. At low tide the mudflat shows far out.

The street grew from used-book carts after the Korean War, and at its height had dozens of shops. Only a few remain, with books stacked to the ceiling. Tell the owner what you are after and they will pull it from the pile.

The 1899 Incheon branch of Japan's First Bank, now showing the railway, post and electricity that arrived after the port opened. Other old banks line the same street, known as the open port quarter. Chinatown lies five minutes away on foot.

An ageing neighbourhood north of Chinatown whose walls and roofs have carried scenes from classic fairy tales since 2013. Each lane tells a different story, drawing families with small children. People live in these houses, so keep your eyes off the gates.

Inside Jeongjoksanseong fortress on Ganghwa, said to date from Goguryeo, which ranks it among Korea's oldest temples. Under the four corners of the main hall's eaves, naked female figures prop up the roof; finding them is half the fun. A fort gate leads in.

Atop Manisan on Ganghwa sits a stone altar where Dangun is said to have offered rites to heaven. The National Sports Festival torch is lit here each year. The stair route is about ninety minutes of endless stone steps; many come down by the ridge.

A Ganghwa coastal fort where Joseon troops fought US Marines in 1871 and nearly all fell. Yongdu Dondae juts into the water above the fast Sondolmok strait. The graves of the dead lie on a rise inside, and a wooded path follows the shore.

A lane market built by Korean War refugees from Yeonbaek across the water, modelled on the one they left. Signs, a barbershop and a tearoom from the 1960s to 1970s survive. A bridge let cars in from 2014; North Korea is in view, so army posts dot the island.

A temple on Seongmodo by Ganghwa, reachable without a ferry since the Seongmo Bridge opened in 2017. Steep steps behind it climb to a seated Avalokitesvara carved under the Eyebrow Rock, facing the sea. From the top, the evening sun drops behind the islands.

Muuido, south of Incheon Airport, has been reachable by car since the Muui Bridge opened in 2019, and a footbridge carries on to tiny Somuuido. The trail around it takes under two hours. At low tide, rocks surface off the small beach midway.

Warehouses and offices from the 1930s to 1940s behind the open port street, reborn in 2009 as studios and galleries. Artists work in residence and the galleries are free. The square between the red-brick blocks is a regular set for dramas and photo shoots.

A 1930s weaving mill in Ganghwa town, reopened as a huge cafe. The old workbenches and machines stay put, with tables set among them. The car park fills early at weekends, so many park at the Ganghwa Pungmul Market and walk over.

At Ganghwa's northern tip in Yangsa-myeon, it looks over the sea-wide Han estuary to the villages and fields of North Korea's Gaepung County. Through the telescopes you can see people walking there. It is inside the civilian control line, so IDs are checked.

In 2005 the hillside shanty town of Sudogruksan in Songhyeon-dong was rebuilt life-size inside this museum. Briquette shop, corner store and the queue at the shared toilet are all frozen in the 1970s. It is about ten minutes uphill from Dongincheon Station.