Experience Korean Modern and Contemporary History with AR·VR... Incheon Open Port Transforms into a 'Smart Tourist Destination'

Jemulpo Club - Jayu Park - Connecting Old Market Official Residence, Creating Historical Walking Space
Expanding Tourism Resources Including Youth Kim Gu Historical Street and Dapdong Cathedral Historical Park Development

'Incheon Open Port Cultural Heritage Night Tour' held on the street in front of Jung-gu Office
[Photo by Incheon Tourism Organization]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The area around Incheon Open Port, where cultural regeneration projects are underway, is transforming into a 'smart tourist destination.'

Incheon City announced on the 23rd that it will promote a revitalization plan for the Open Port area using advanced IT technology starting this year.

Incheon is the first international city to have embraced Western culture through its opening as a port in 1883. Currently, it holds many historical and cultural resources, including modern architecture and traces of the once-glamorous concession area (foreign residential district) centered around Chinatown and Jung-gu Office opposite Incheon Station on the Gyeongin Line, as well as the first modern container port.

Accordingly, the city is shifting to a cultural regeneration model focused on content that reflects the history of the port opening. Last year, it was selected as the country's first smart tourism city (by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism contest), and related projects will be actively pursued starting this year.

From May, free public Wi-Fi will be available throughout the Open Port area, and through an app developed under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's smart tourism city project, tourists will be able to access information on exhibitions, restaurants, cafes, and enjoy conveniences such as smart ordering, waiting, reservations, and payments all through a single smartphone.

Reservations and payments for various tourist vehicles in the Open Port area, such as the Incheon City Tour Bus, Wolmi Sea Train, Mulbeom Car, and Open Port Alley Tour Bus, will be easily accessible, and real-time parking information will also be provided.

Additionally, services such as a 3D stereoscopic map recreating the Open Port in the 19th century, augmented reality (AR) selfies, and 'Ghost Docents' where historical figures from the past explain stories of the locations, will allow tourists to experience both the past and present of the Open Port simultaneously.

The representative spaces of the Open Port, such as Jemulpo Club, Jayu Park, and the old market official residences, will be connected, and themed stone wall paths and exhibition spaces will be created throughout the area to make it a place where visitors can feel history as they walk.

Along with this, projects to expand tourism resources will be promoted, including the creation of the Young Kim Gu Historical Street (Kim Gu Escape Route, Okbaraji Road, Labor Road, etc.), the establishment of the historic park of Dapdong Cathedral, the first Western-style church in Incheon, the opening of the old Incheon Customs warehouse, and tracing the traces of the sea route port opening.

Earlier this month, the city opened a Facebook page called 'Incheon Open Port Regeneration Team' to inform citizens about the charm and transformation of the Open Port and to gather opinions. The page will introduce policy projects related to the newly changing Open Port this year and continuously share updates on the smart transformation of the area.

An official from Incheon City stated, "The Open Port is rapidly emerging as the nation's top cultural tourism icon, having been selected as the country's first smart tourism city and winning the grand prize at the 'Korea Tourism Star' awards. We especially expect it to become a 'contactless travel sanctuary' in the COVID era through tourism services incorporating advanced technology."