Introduction of Incheon Metropolitan City

Incheon : The Gateway of Korea

Introduction of Incheon

Incheon, the marine-tourism city consists of roughly 150 small and big islands including the Ganghwado Island and Baekryeongdo Island which make for a beautiful natural environment. The city also boasts cultural and tourism sources bearing the history from the ancient to the modern time of flowering. Various aspects can be found in this metropolitan city including: Incheon International Airport, Incheon Port, Songdo, Cheongna, Yeongjongdo, and Incheon Bridge. The Incheon International Airport and the Incheon Port are playing a great role for Incheon to take its place as an important city in the world. Songdo, Cheongna, and Yeongjongdo which are the first Free Economic Zones in Korea are the advanced futuristic cities of Incheon.The city is also hosting the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Geographic location

Geographically, Incheon is located at approximately 126°37′E, 37°28′N. This puts the city at the heart of the Korean peninsular. Incheon faces the Yellow Sea and sits at the mouth of Hangang River. Just 28km away from Seoul, the capital city of Korea, Incheon has the same latitude as San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Madrid.

Climate

Although influenced by a continental climate, traces of an oceanic climate can be detected in Incheon thanks to its location on the coast. This is why the city is subject to a smaller annual temperature range. The average temperature for the year in Incheon is 12.1℃ while the highest temperature recorded was 38.9℃ (August 16, 1949) and the lowest recorded was –21.0℃ (January 11, 1931). Precipitation is at 1,234.4mm per year which is a low amount compared to other regions at similar latitudes. The average wind speed throughout the year is 2.9m/s which blows primarily north-northwest followed by north and northwest. February ~ April endures the strongest winds while September experiences the mildest. Compared to other regions, Incheon suffers from yellow dust more frequently and the dust tends to persist for longer periods of time as well. When migratory anticyclones from central China increase the amount of southwesterly winds, it creates heavy fog on the Yellow Sea and prevents temperatures rising during the day. The total number of foggy days in Incheon is 49.4 days of which 64% occur between April and July.

Population and households

As of January 31, 2015, Incheon Metropolitan City’s has 8 gu districts, 2 gun districts, 1 eup district, and 128 dong districts. As at January 2015, the city’s registrated population stood at 2,904,876 and the number of households recorded 1,137,515. The average number of people per household was 2.55 which continues a downward trend that began in 1999.