How Seoul and Incheon’s Chinatowns tell stories of Chinese immigration to Korea

Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West. In a series of articles, the Post explores the historical and social significance of major Chinatowns around the world and the communities that shape them. There are two Chinatowns of note in South Korea: one in Incheon, just outside Seoul, and one in Seoul’s Daerim neighbourhood. Both not only tell the stories of Chinese migrants to Korea, but also the complex relationship between Korea and China over the past few centuries. Incheon Chinatown is the country’s oldest Chinese enclave. Located in the city’s Jung district, it dates back to the late Joseon era (1392-1897), when Korea was still a tributary state of China. In 1882, the Chinese sent troops to quell a political uprising in Seoul. The troops were accompanied by around 40 Chinese traders. The following year, China under the Qing government (1644-1911) established a diplomatic presence in Incheon, the first port city that Korea’s seclusionist Joseon government had opened up to foreigners. In 1884, the Qing concession was officially designated in Incheon’s Seonlin district. The area, which covered around 16,500 square metres (18,000 square feet), became known as Cheonggwan, or “Qing officials’ district”. It became the heart of the Chinese community in Korea and is where Incheon Chinatown stands today. The area contained businesses catering to foreign sailors and locals, including shops, pharmacies and food suppliers. In 1887, the concession area was deemed too small to contain the growing number of immigrants there, and Incheon Chinatown expanded. Many of the traders in Incheon were from the provinces of Shandong and Fujian. They founded trade networks between China and Korea, importing commodities such as tea and silk and exporting Korean ginseng and seafood. Chinese restaurants in Incheon Chinatown, such as Gonghwachun and Junghwaru, are said to have been extremely popular, not only with Chinese people but also Koreans – even those living as far away as Seoul. While both Gonghwachun and Junghwaru still exist in Incheon Chinatown, only Junghwaru has operated continuously since its inception; the current owners of Gonghwachun are unaffiliated with the restaurant’s founders. Incheon Chinatown gradually lost its vibrancy as the Chinese Qing government weakened. Korea ceased to be a Chinese tributary state in 1895, a year after the start of the first Sino-Japanese war, and became a Japanese colony in 1910. The Japanese colonial government took over the Qing concession area. It was only in 1992, after the normalisation of the relations between South Korea and China, that Incheon Chinatown underwent a revival – a grand paifang, or traditional Chinese gate, was erected and historic streets restored. New tourist attractions were established in the 2010s, including the Jjajangmyeon Museum – which documents the invention and evolution of the beloved Korean-Chinese noodle dish jjajangmyeon – as well as the Incheon huaqiao history museum – which traces the history of Chinese immigration in South Korea. Today, South Korea’s Chinese community makes up 38.9 per cent of its 1.93 million foreign residents, according to government statistics from 2023. More than half of the Chinese community are Joseon-jok – ethnic Koreans whose ancestors emigrated to China in the past. A wave of Joseon-jok moved to Seoul seeking economic opportunities after South Korea and China normalised diplomatic relations in 1992. Many of them later ended up settling in the Daerim neighbourhood, leading to the evolution of Seoul Chinatown in the early 2000s. For the culturally curious, the Daerim Chinatown is probably as close to China as it gets in South Korea. Signs written in Chinese line the streets, and many conversations spoken in Mandarin or Korean with the distinctive Joseon-jok accent can be heard. Wholesale markets and grocery stores are stocked with Chinese goods that cannot be found anywhere else in Seoul. Restaurants and street vendors serve authentic dishes from Yanbian, an autonomous Chinese prefecture bordering North Korea, including leng mian cold spicy noodles and Yanbian’s much thicker version of Korean sundae blood sausage. While Seoul’s Daerim Chinatown is more lively than Incheon’s, it lacks a paifang gate. Paifang gates are believed to ward off evil spirits and are a quintessential sight in Chinatowns around the world. It is said that Daerim Chinatown’s lack of one speaks to its identity as a Joseon-jok community rather than a Han Chinese community. In recent years, Daerim Chinatown has faced several challenges including rising rents and a slowdown in immigration resulting from stricter visa requirements. According to a 2024 report from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the foreign population in Daerim declined by nearly 40 per cent between 2018 and 2023. Despite these pressures, Daerim remains a vibrant hub for Korea’s Joseon-jok community and offers visitors a rare glimpse into their daily lives and culture.

How Seoul and Incheon’s Chinatowns tell stories of Chinese immigration to Korea

The history of South Korea’s two main Chinatowns also reveals the complex relationship between Korea and China over the past few centuries