Korea's Chinese history began with Qing merchants in 1882 and took shape with the 1884 Incheon Chinese settlement in Seollin-dong—exactly 140 years ago this year.

Fewer people, lasting roots

Once over 80,000 in the colonial era, Korea's Chinese community has shrunk to about 10,000. Through division, the Cold War and various restrictions, numbers fell sharply—but communal bonds endured.

Many Incheon Chinatown residents have deep ties to the Republic of China (Taiwan) and a long history alongside Korean society. Chinese schools, associations and old Chinese restaurants are living witnesses.

A tourism and cultural asset

Chinatown, alongside the old open port and Songdo, is being rediscovered as a rare tourism asset; foreign media cite Incheon as a unique case where a high-tech city meets modern history.

Cultural tourism via food, festivals and architecture could energize Chinese-run businesses—though balancing commercialization against the community's real life and memory remains a challenge.

Roots deeper than numbers

We focus not on shrinking numbers but on 140 years of memory and ties. Because unrecorded history is forgotten, documenting these roots is not about the past but a bridge for the next generation.