The Marmot’s Hole

By SHELTON BUMGARNER
FNY Guest Blogger

I find myself drawn again and again to Incheon’s Chinatown. It’s become something of a spiritual journey. Around each of the last Lunar New Year’s I’ve found myself there, just to walk around to experience the place.

One of the things about Incheon’s Chinatown — which, I believe, is the only one in Korea — is how alien it seems. I’ve lived in Korea long enough that it no longer feels like a foreign country. Now, it feels like a very special episode of the Twilight Zone where some dude — that would be me — wakes up in a 51 state of the Union where nobody speaks his language.

Chinatown’s Front Gate

The main gate to Chinatown is smack-dab in front of the Incheon Subway Station. It’s very ornate and cool. According to what I’ve read, there are about 800 Chinese families that remain in Chinatown. Chinatown itself is in nestled in a rather drab, post-industrial area of Incheon. Given its potential, in the States, I’m sure the entire area would be going through the process of gentrification. Hipsters, bobos and neo-yuppies would have found the area, driving rent prices up and pushing out the natives.

On my most recent visit, around Lunar New Year — ironically enough — I stepped off the subway only to run right into a Chinese-Korean. He was just a kid, but a hoot of a tour guide. He was a prime example of the power of globalization. You could have plopped him in any seventh period study hall anywhere in the United States and he would have fit right in with any of the other ennui filled knuckle heads. For our purposes, his name will be “Dimebag.”

Thanks, Dimebag

A surprising amount things to do exist within walking distance from Chinatown. Besides Chinatown itself, there is Womido. Womido has a micro-amusement park, a nice wide boardwalk and a great view of the ocean. You can see one of three beaches that served as the landing site of the Sept. 15, 1950 invasion of Incheon by American and UN forces.

Dimebag always seemed to be on the make. He kept trying to figure out ways to get me to buy him stuff. He’s into playing drums and drinking with his friends. One of the first places that he took me to was his school, which, in an homage to its Chinese community, flies the flag of the Republic of China, not the People’s Republic of China. Dimebag is a senior at the school, I seem to recall.

After that, he took me to what he said was the “first Chinese restaurant in Korea.” Given that Korea was all but a part of China for a few hundred years, that statement tests my credulity just a little bit. It just looked like a big slab of a building to me. But what do I know? Around this time, I again thought about retiring to Chinatown one day. It would be nice to waddle about the place in my golden years. All these cool small side streets exist throughout the community, giving it a rabbit warren vibe.

In the middle of Chinatown, there is a hill with steps that lead up to Freedom Park where the statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur is. The entire place is getting spruced up these days. Chinatown is actually starting to look shiny and inviting. The first time I went there, it was rather drab. To the left, near the top of the hill is the Castle Cafe. If you were taking a date to Chinatown — you guys can get dates, right? — you could take her/him there for a quick drink coffee before you went to see Freedom Park.

Freedom Park, while small, is a great place to take a date or a significant other. You have a wide, panoramic view of an….uh…ugly shipping port. But the actual park itself is rather delightful. It has lots of flowers and in the spring time you see many people taking pictures among them. These days, the MacArthur statue has “elevated” security, given the intense desire among some Korean leftists to blow it up. I suspect in the future, the entire park will be put under some sort of protective structure. It’s cheaper than having a 24/7 police detail around the thing.

America & Korea, Friends 4EVAH!

Nearby is a monument dedicated to 100 years of Korean- American good diplomatic vibes. The exterior of the monument is pretty cool, the actual monument itself leaves something to be desired. It doesn’t look like something that would represent good anything. “They spent good money on THAT?” Dimebag took a moment to point out that the local Korean teens didn’t really appreciate the monument, either, which would account for massive amounts of vandalism that can be seen on it if you look closely.

It was cold and starting to get dark, so I scrapped plans to go to Womido and started heading home. Dimebag was still tagging along so I finally broke down and bought him some soju. His face lit up like a Christmas tree when I broached the subject. “REALLY? You’re so cool, dude!”

On the way, I noticed a restaurant with a cool decoration on it. It looked like the tops of bottles or something. I took a few shots just for the heck of it.In fact, there are many nice Chinese resturants in Chinatown. Some of them are rather large, in fact.
We stopped by a mom and pop store and drank soju while I tried to play with the owner’s cat. The cat had really funky eyes and was being poorly held down by what looked like a brick. It’s so, so rare to see a cat in Korea. So when I do see one I enjoy playing with it extra. Let me tell you one thing — that boy sure can drink. He ’bout absorb that soju. I was in awe.

On our way to the subway stop, we stopped by a building that apparently is all about how great Sino-Korean relations have been over the last few thousand years. It was rather small, but cool enough. It has a review of Chinese influences on Korea, as I recall. It’s free, so if you’re in the area it’s worth a visit.

At this point, I bid Dimebag adieu and headed home. I’m sure I’ll come back to Chinatown, however. I love that place.

{Author’s Note: a complete set of photos from my most recent journey to Chinatown may be found here.}