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Incheon Open Port: The Border That Became a Staircase · 2

Three Concessions on One Hill

Ep.2 · Walking across the boundary steps

FitTrip Editor · 2026.07.20

Right after the opening, concessions were laid side by side in Incheon. The 1883 treaty on the Japanese settlement fixed the Japanese concession first, and the Qing and general foreign concessions followed the next year, splitting one narrow hill among several jurisdictions. That boundary survives today as the Qing-Japanese Concession Boundary Staircase: east of the steps was the Japanese concession, west the Qing, and above lay Manguk Park — now Jayu Park — inside the general foreign concession. The way to see this layer is to watch the architecture change from one side of the steps to the other. The concessions were abolished in 1914, but the street and lot structure they created still governs how you move through the district.

Opening a port was not only about opening water. It was also about dividing the land beside it.

1883, and the year after

The 1883 treaty on the Japanese settlement designated part of the foreign quarter as an exclusively Japanese concession Fact. The next year the Qing concession and a general foreign concession shared by several countries followed Fact. One narrow hill ended up split among several jurisdictions. A concession was a zone where foreign residents lived and held administrative and policing power, so in effect it was a city inside the city Estimate.

Walking the seam

That seam is the Qing-Japanese Concession Boundary Staircase. East of the steps was the Japanese concession, west the Qing, and following the steps up leads to Manguk Park — today’s Jayu Park — which lay inside the general foreign concession Fact. Walk it and the grain differs on either side: one side keeps Chinese-style ornament and red tones, the other a different grammar Estimate. The fastest way to see this layer is to stand halfway up and look left, then right.

The institution gone, the skeleton left

The concessions ended as an institution in 1914 with the abolition of the foreign settlements Fact. But the roads and lot lines drawn then remained. Walking the district today, why the streets bend as they do and why character shifts above and below the hill mostly comes from those old lines Estimate.

A perspective worth keeping

Still, it is better not to read this layer as romance alone. The concessions were places of exchange and also products of unequal treaties Estimate. The staircase holds both at once, and the present-day question of Ep.9 comes down to the same thing: who redraws this city, and how.

FAQ

What was a concession?
A zone inside a treaty port where foreign residents lived and exercised administrative and policing authority. Incheon had a Japanese concession, a Qing concession, and a general foreign concession shared by several countries.
Where is the boundary staircase?
On the hill between Chinatown and Jayu Park. East of the steps was the Japanese concession and west the Qing, and following the steps up leads to Jayu Park.
When did the concessions end?
They were abolished as an institution in 1914 with the removal of the foreign settlements. But the roads and lot lines drawn then remain and still shape the district.

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