Port of Incheon

Incheon's sea port is the second largest port in Korea after Busan's sea port. It opened to overseas vessels in 1883, the third in Korea after the ports of Busan and Wonsan.

The Port of Incheon is located on the midwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula. It is an artificial port with lockgate facilities which have overcome a tidal range of ten metres -- one of the highest in the world.

The lock-gate of Incheon port is an important facility enabling large ships to enter and depart all the times by overcoming the difference between the ebb and flow up to 10m." The lock-gate takes pride in being the largest in Asia, allowing up to 50,000 DWT ships to enter and exit. The passages towards the berth that ships enter and depart from are composed of one dock for 50,000 DWT ship and two docks for 10,000 DWT ship.

Pier 1, 2 and 3 are general piers which handle various freights such as steel, logs, feeds, and general cargo.

Incheon's international passenger Terminal 1 opened in October 2000 with KRW36,249 million investment. With the state-of-the-art modern equipment, ticketing, immigration and customs have been simplified. A large parking lot, a water-friendly space for citizens, and a space for containers and general cargoes were formed.

The International Passenger Terminal located at the port offers ferries to four cities in China: Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Weihai. There are also ferries to Incheon's outlying islands as well as Baengnyeong Island inside of the Northern Limit Line.

Constructed in September 15th 1995, the coastal passenger terminal caters to 17 ships in 13 ship ways at any time.

The South Port allows small and medium sized ships such as coastal cargo ships and barges to berth. It is also strategically designed to handle the inter-Korean cargo, preparing for the reunification.

There are three anchorages in the port complex. The depth of water ranges from 2.5 metresto 20m and ships of 2,000 to 100,000 dwt can berth.

Cruise ships dock close to the centre of town. The Incheon cruise terminal is still in construction and will be finished in 2014.

The coastline is irregular with its islets and mountainous inland terrain providing a popular getaway from the city.

Incheon is home to the International Airport, but this does not stop it from being a charming city, surrounded by rice fields, source of the renowned Incheon "flavoursome rice."

Since the days of the Joseon Dynasty the city has also been famed for its therapeutic hot springs, and the downtown hotels all operate public bath facilities and swimming pools where visitors can bathe in the spa waters, claimed to benefit skin ailments, eye problems, neuralgia and gynaecological diseases. This is also the place to buy ceramics. In the Incheon Ceramics Village there are hundreds of studios and shops with traditional wood-fired kilns producing traditional porcelain.