What to See in Incheon - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum. The Museum of Korean Culture is located in Concourse 4F in Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea. It houses artifacts and art of cultural significance to Korea. Displays include royal culture, traditional arts, printing, and Hangul, traditional music, Buddhist and Confucian artifacts, garments from the Joseon Dynasty, and items and clothing from daily Korean life. Several artifacts at the museum are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage.

The exhibits include:

• The Great Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light (Korean: 무구정광대다라니경; Hanja: 無垢淨光大陀羅尼經; RR: Mugu jeonggwang dae darani-gyeong) (Hyakumantō Darani), the oldest known wooden slab print in the world dating back to the eighth century, discovered in 1966
• A replica of Jikji, the world’s oldest existing book published by movable metal type, create during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1377
• Yongbieocheonga (Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven) and Worin cheongangjigok (Songs of the Moon's Reflection on a Thousand Rivers), two of the earliest works printed in Hangul
• Janggu (a double-headed drum pinched at the middle), Daegeum (a large transverse bamboo flute), and Buk (a drum), via a media arts system

City in South Korea. Songdo International Business District is a smart city or "ubiquitous city" built from scratch on 600 ha of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, 30 km southwest of Seoul, South Korea and connected to Incheon International Airport by a 12.3 km reinforced concrete highway bridge, called Incheon Bridge. Along with Yeongjong and Cheongna, it is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone.

The Songdo International Business District will feature the Northeast Asia Trade Tower, G-tower, and the Incheon Tower. Schools, hospitals, apartments, office buildings and cultural amenities are to be built in the district. Homages of architectural hallmarks, including New York City's Central Park and Venice's waterways, will also be incorporated. This 10-year development project is estimated to cost in excess of $40 billion, making it one of the most expensive development projects ever undertaken.

With 106 buildings and 22 million sq ft. of LEED-certified space, the green building certification by the United States Green Building Council, Songdo IBD makes up about 40% of all LEED-certified space in South Korea.

As of 2020, the population of Songdo exceeds 167,346 people.^[7]

6-lane highway bridge spanning over 20km. The Incheon Bridge is a reinforced concrete cable-stayed bridge in South Korea. At its opening in October 2009, it became the second bridge connection between Yeongjong Island and the mainland of Incheon. The Incheon Bridge is South Korea's longest spanning cable-stayed bridge. In comparison, it is the world's tenth longest cable-stayed bridge as of January 2019.

The bridge provides direct access between Songdo and Incheon International Airport, reducing travel time between them by up to one hour.

The section of the bridge crossing the sea, whose concessionaire is Incheon Bridge Corporation, is funded by the private sector. Korea Expressway Corporation and the Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) managed the project.

The bridge is located to the south of the Yeongjong Bridge, which was the first bridge connection between Yeongjong Island and the mainland.^[8]

Skyscraper in Incheon, South Korea. The Posco Tower-Songdo or Northeast Asia Trade Tower is a skyscraper in Songdo International City, the world's most expensive private real estate project in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, South Korea. The 305-metre building is currently South Korea's fourth tallest, and has 68 floors. It surpassed the previous record-holder, Samsung Tower Palace 3 – Tower G in Seoul, when it topped-out in 2009. Although finished in 2011, the completion of its interior had been delayed due to financial complications during a recession. It was surpassed in height in 2017 by the current highest building in South Korea, the Lotte World Tower.

The building was intended to be a landmark of the Songdo International Business District which was constructed on unused land along the waterfront near Incheon. It features 19 floors of class A office space, an observatory on the 65th-floor, a luxury hotel, serviced residences, and retail stores. The column-free floors include an office lobby at ground level with French limestone floors and Vermont slate stone walls.^[9]

University in Incheon, South Korea. Incheon National University, previously also known as University of Incheon, is a national university, operated by the legal entity established by the government of Republic of Korea. INU campuses are located at multiple locations in the city of Incheon, part of Seoul Capital Area.

INU was first founded as a private college known as the Incheon Technical College in January 1979. Later, it was renamed Incheon College in December 1979 before getting chartered as a comprehensive university in 1988. In 1994, the university was renamed once again to University of Incheon, which was a city council funded university. In addition to these changes, INU also relocated from Dohwa-dong in Nam-gu to a new location in 2009. Now, INU stands in the new and young international city of Songdo which is also known as the New Songdo City, located in IFEZ (Incheon Free Economic Zone). A year later, in 2010, INU merged with Incheon City College to expand capacity and open more curricula. The university now operates multiple campuses across Incheon metropolitan area at Songdo, main campus, and also at Michuhol and Dohwa-dong, satellite campuses. The central and municipal government fund the university more than US $100M per year to continue to expand education and research. INU has been reputed as one of the most innovative universities in the world, ranked #26 in the world, and #2 in South Korea just next to Seoul National University from 2021 World Universities of Real Impact (WURI) ranking. INU's Matrix College system is recognized as one of the most efficient ways to bridge academia and industry, preparing students for immediate impact to the respective field after graduation. INU is also one of the leading universities for start-up support and establishment, partly owing to national industrial park nearby (Namdong Induspark) and bio-cluster established in Songdo. INU has been ranked #1 for creating student-driven start-ups among national universities and #8 among all universities in the Republic of Korea.^[10]

Island in Incheon, South Korea. Yeongjong Island is an island off the west coast of the city of Incheon, South Korea, which contains Incheon International Airport as well as small villages, farms, and beaches. The previously separate Yongyu, Sammok, and Sinbul Islands have been joined to Yeongjong Island by an area of reclaimed land built for the construction of the airport. The island is an exclave of Incheon Metropolitan City's Jung-gu district, and is accessed via two bridges, Yeongjong Bridge connecting to Seo-gu and Incheon Bridge connecting to Songdo.

In addition to the airport, the island is known for Eulwangni Beach and Wangsan Beach on the west coast, and Yongguksa Temple in the central part. The island also has a ferry terminal on its southwest coast for Muuido Island.

The Incheon Airport Maglev is planned to open the first of three stages which will eventually make a circle around the island. The first stage will stop at Yongyu station near the ferry terminal.^[11]