Gaehang-ro: Explore This Cool Neighborhood In Incheon

Incheon has a lot of cool things to see and do and one neighborhood you should check out if you like good food, reading, and nice cafes, is Gaehang-ro (개항로). Full of established book stores and newtro cafes, there is a lot to hunt out and enjoy. There are a lot of cool things to see in Incheon and since it’s just west of Seoul, it makes for a great daytrip from Seoul. This is a cool little area to spend the day in hopping from good eatery to café to gallery.

Ready to see what’s cool in Gaehang-ro?

How To Get There
What To Know About Gaehang-ro
Where To Eat
Cafes
- Lighthouse
What To See
- itta Space
- Incheon Culture Brewery (인천문화양조장)

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How To Get There

By Subway: Head to Dongincheon Subway Station and take exit 1 and walk out to the main street. From there, go left along the road and you can find the street of cool shops across the street before you head beneath the underpass.

What To Know About Gaehang-ro

If you’ve headed out to Incheon’s Chinatown (인천 차이나타운) or Fairytale Village and the Incheon Art Platform, you’ve passed right by this area without realizing it. There are a lot of modern areas in Incheon now like the Songdo Park and Tri-Bowl but there are pockets of more traditional relics still in tact and that’s why Gaehang-ro is special.

It had its hey-day in the 1960s and 1970s but the area had a decline when Incheon City Hall was relocated. The area was a down trodden for a bit but in 2018 things started to change. Today, the old buildings have been given new life and that’s why you need to go check it out.

Where To Eat

Make sure you head to the area hungry there are too many good looking eats here to possibly enjoy in one day. I’ve eaten lunch in the area twice and both times was extremely happy with my meal. Would go back for more for sure.

Gaehang Noodle (개항면)

I didn’t have this restaurant tagged the first time I went to the area, but it caught our eye immediately and went right in when the hunger pangs struck. Expect a delicious thick broth soup made from boiling beef bones and ox tail for half a day. Eat up the sumptuous noodles and add a bit of chili oil if you want a spicier kick.

Gaehang Noodle, Gaehang-ro, Incheon, Korea

You absolutely need to get an order of the flat dumplings too. We ate our meal in its entirety and the interior is gorgeous too. While the downstairs bar might look like the spot to sit, just go upstairs and check out the chandeliers.

Address: 108-1 Gaehang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 개항로 108-1)
Hours: Every day 11:30am ~ 9:00pm (Break Time: 3:30pm ~ 5:00pm)

Mekong Sarong (메콩사롱)

We really enjoyed our food at Mekong Sarong. There is seating on the first floor and upstairs. If you can, sit in the salon on the right when you enter. It’s got a beautiful window. There were only two of us, but we couldn’t help ordering three dishes to try. They were all DELICIOUS.

Address: 14 Chamoejeon-ro 158 beon-gil, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 참외전로 158번길 14)
Hours: 11:30am ~ 8:00pm (Break time: 3:00pm ~ 5:00pm)

Gaehangro Street Chicken (개항로통닭)

If you head to the area in the evening and are looking for dinner instead, look for this delicious looking chicken joint. Famous for roasted chicken, this joint which harkens back to the 1980s is famous for their “Half Half Chicken”. The dish is served with a roasted chicken sitting atop a plate in which half of the sauce is a rose sauce and half is cheese. Want some super tender chicken for dinner? This is the spot.

Address: 164 Chamwoejeonro, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 참외전로 164 )
Hours: 4:30pm ~ 12:00am

Cafes

Lighthouse (일광전구 라이트하우스)

Beautiful from day to night, though maybe more in the night, this cafe was created by Ilkwang Lighthouse, an incandescent light bulb brand in Korea. They even have a lightbulb vending machine. Order a coffee on the first floor and wait for it to be prepared as you watch the lightbulb machine spin and whirl.

Head up the steps to the second floor to find the most popular photo-op with dozens of lightbulbs hanging over the machines down below. Continue up the steps to find another thrilling installation and then make sure to head to the building in the back too. There is plenty of seating here and the rooms are all beautiful.

Address: 8-1 174 beon-gil, Chamwaejeon-gil, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 참외전길 174번길 8-1)
Hours: Every day: 11:30am ~ 9:30pm

What To See

itta Space (잇다스페이스 갤러리)

Just next to the Gaehang Noodle restaurant and why we had lunch there the first time, itta Space was originally a salt warehouse in the 1920s and then used as a bookstore for a time. But today, it is a cultural space. It’s easy to pass by as it’s off a small alley from the main road, it’s an interesting space with a huge hole in the main room. Step in and see what’s on exhibition when you’re in the area.

Address: 172-41 Chamweijeon-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 참외전로 172-41)
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday: 11:00am ~ 6:00pm

Incheon Culture Brewery (인천문화양조장)

The colorful entrance and robot outside caught our eye immediately. This space is across the road from Gaehang-ro and in the book district, but since they’re so close, why not take a walk? What was once an actual brewery, is now a culture brewery with various exhibitions on at any one time. We stepped in and found it completely empty, not a person in sight monitoring so we just perused on our own. More often than you think, you can just walk into places like this and see what there is for yourself.

It’s a bit random and based on other posts on Naver, it seems you really never know what you’ll see if you stop by at any given time. Does that mean you should check it out? For sure you should. Then stop into one of the bookstores. We got a stack of great books in the area too.