Visiting Places, Korea (May 2025)

Probably second to the joy of meeting up with people, I also enjoy visiting places of interest. Even if I travel alone, I try to find new places to visit. May is a good month for flowers. I found plenty of Royal Azaleas in the apartment complex where I stayed in Incheon. They are colorful and beautiful!

I made a trip to visit NamDaeMun Market. One of the places she wanted to visit was a street food cart-style restaurant. It was inexpensive but very crowded. We had to wait and eat in a squeezed seats. But it was fun!

I saw a structure of old Korean housing hanging up in the air at the Incheon International Airport Station. I thought it was cute and pretty.

I took a day trip to a nearby island in Incheon, a port city, where my rented housing is located. There I sat down at a bakery cafe, called Celeb Cafe, and found cakes that looked like charcoal for burning in the olden times. They were hilarious!

The place was quite crowded but I managed to take a seat and enjoy the sea breeze for a while.

The former island, called Yongyu-do, is now part of a bigger Young Jong Island, where Incheon International Airport is located. Apparently, the sunset is beautiful from the spot, but I did not stay that long there.

I also briefly visited Chinatown in front of Incheon Station. 

After a brief visit, I decided to visit the Korean Immigration History Museum. It was a short bus ride from the Incheon Station.

I found the Korean passports of the old Korea, and the one below was of JoongKeun Ahn, one of the Korean heroes who fought against the Japanese Empire. 

Korea's immigration history started with the first official immigration to Hawaii to work at the sugar cane plantation. The first group of immigrants was 102 and their life was portrayed in detail. Apparently, the U.S. abandoned the immigrants from China and instead started accepting Korean workers. A Methodist church in Incheon played a significant role in recruiting these first immigrants. 

I found one chart that summarized the statistics of Korean immigration. The immigration countries shifted over time, starting from China, Russia, Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, to Japan, China, and to the U.S., Canada, and to South America, North America, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, Middle East. Koreans living overseas are now estimated to be seven million people, with two million of them living in the U.S. It was interesting.

Also, Korea started accepting the increasing number of migrants into its own territory and the following chart showed the statistical trend. Their numbers are now ar 2.5 million people.

I did not get to visit a lot of places this time, but it brings me joy all the time to visit new places. - Jeffrey