Walkers' Storie No.0

Walkday One: Walked from Dongincheon to Baedari and all the way to Chinatown 

Jooyoung Lee

First walking in Incheon was with a group of artists/curators from all over the world, mostly residents of Seoul via Spain and England, along with a student who lives in Incheon but has never been to either Baedari or Chinatown - the old part of Incheon. Gathered at Dongincheon Station - looked like any other station in Seoul.

Walked to Baedari - literally means Boat Bridge, named after the Chosun Dynasty.

No bridge or ocean water, only a bunch of second-hand bookshops, as well as school kids’ stationery stores.

Turned right, stopped at the old Brewery - built in the colonial era, turned into a community art space called Space Beam ['beam' meaning 'emptying' in Korean; not, as you might imagine, 'light']. Guided by the director of the Space to Eco Park, across from the Space. On the way, in the small alley, saw eclectic-looking attached houses - each seemed to change in many ways from one house to the next.  Apparently five families live in each house.

Walked to Eco Park, run by the Space Beam community and local artists.

May have been abandoned ‘for now’ but being used beautifully by them. 

Local community obviously doesn’t want to have a fancy-looking designed park.

Under the process of making a new road to connect the new part of the city, for the benefit of new city commuters. Temporary and very precarious part of the city. Old city may be wiped out soon. 

Park surrounded by a big construction fence. Would never know what’s inside the construction site if not guided. Walked through a small part of the fence. Touched soil, grass and bushes. Cabbage growing. Walked back into Space Beam and shared lovely homemade cookies contributed by one of the walkers. Cookies traveled all the way from Seoul out to Incheon along with her.

Started to walk again and saw local vegetables and fruits shops on the sidewalk. On the way to Hongyemun or Hongye gate (the Rainbow Gate), saw the tunnel under the mountain - the Japanese paved the road and gate back in the old days. Loads of cheap Chinese labor involved. Many died.

Walked up the hill on the way to Jayu Park. Saw abandoned-looking Japanese houses to the left side of the hill. Talked about materials and structures of the houses’ roofs, and the wall. Was this built by Japanese during the Colonial Era? Or is this going to be demolished?  If not, is this going to be registered as a 'cultural property'? (UPDATE: Found out this story from a book written in 2006 by a local historian Jongbok Lee:  Apparently, a Japanese family, whose father worked in the city’s hospital back in the colonial era, owned this house in Songhak-dong. One of the family members (unknown whether he is still alive or not) visited Incheon not long ago. When he visited Incheon to see his childhood home, he was around eighty years old , living in Fukuoka.)

Walked up the hill along the left side of the Jayu Park. Found the Jemulpo Club - a foreigner’s social club during the Colonial Era until just after the Korean War.  Closed upon our arrival. Didn't feel connected to those days. Wonder what sort of vibe all the foreign diplomats had back in the day? Didn't feel club vibes at all, where the foreign settlement socialized back then, at this clubhouse. 

Walked up to the Steps of Each Nation’s Settlement where we walked like the ‘Rocky run’ in the movies. Met General MacArthur’s memorial statue from the Korean War. 

Talked about the role of the statue for people who have a memory of that war.

Walked down to the spot where the Qing Chinese and Japanese boundary steps are.

Offered a great view over the city. Reminded us Incheon is a big harbor city, and is changing madly from old to new. Stopped at a small artist-run space on the street where the Samgukji (Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Chinese Novel) Mural is. A local knows that some Korean houses around this street don’t have a registration number as property. This means these spaces are illegal. Some residents have lived there for more than thirty years, so the city cannot push them away for now, unless a rich property speculator buys the whole bunch of houses along the Samgukji.

Got introduced the Daechang Chinese restaurant where locals go to eat Jajangmyun. Walked down the boundary steps and turned right to the end of the street at the corner of the Bucksung Street. Found a restaurant. Ordered Jajangmyun, shared stories and books about Chinatown and Jayu Park.

24^th Oct 2009