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Incheon Open Port: The Border That Became a Staircase · 6

The Park That Changed Its Name Four Times

Ep.6 · From All Nations Park to Jayu Park

FitTrip Editor · 2026.07.20

Jayu Park, laid out in 1888, is Korea’s first Western-style park. After the opening of Incheon port a foreign residents’ association managed it, so people called it All Nations Park. As Japanese power grew, the foreign settlements were abolished in 1914 and management passed to Incheon prefecture, after which it was called West Park. Following liberation in 1945 it became Manguk Park, and from 3 October 1957, when a statue of General MacArthur, who commanded the Incheon Landing, was erected, it was renamed Jayu Park. Across four names the managing authority and the era changed together, making this the most compressed display of time’s layers in the district. Climbing the boundary staircase of Ep.2 leads here.

When a single park changes its name four times, that is not a history of landscaping. It is a history of politics.

1888 — All Nations Park

Jayu Park, laid out in 1888, is Korea’s first Western-style park Fact. After the opening of Incheon port a foreign residents’ association ran it, so people of the time called it All Nations Park Fact. It sat inside the general foreign concession of Ep.2, so the name itself declared where it belonged Estimate.

1914 — West Park

As Japanese power grew, the foreign settlements were abolished in 1914, and when management passed to Incheon prefecture it became West Park Fact. What matters is that the name changed for reasons of jurisdiction, not gardening — the end of the concession system in Ep.2 reached as far as the park’s sign Estimate.

1945, and 1957

After liberation it was called Manguk Park Fact. Then from 3 October 1957, when a statue of General MacArthur, who commanded the Incheon Landing, was erected, it was renamed Jayu Park Fact. Korea’s modern history — beginning with the port opening, passing through colonisation and war, arriving at the Cold War — is written in order on one park’s nameplate Estimate.

How to walk it

On the route, climbing the boundary staircase of Ep.2 brings you here Fact. It sits on the hill with an open view toward the harbour, which makes it the right place to look back over the concessions and buildings you walked in earlier chapters Estimate. That is why this series places Jayu Park mid-course: look down once from here, go back down, and the remaining layers read differently.

FAQ

When was Jayu Park created?
In 1888. It is Korea’s first Western-style park, laid out after the opening of Incheon port and located inside the general foreign concession.
Why did the name keep changing?
Because the managing authority changed. Under the foreign residents’ association it was All Nations Park; after management passed to Incheon prefecture in 1914 it was West Park; after liberation in 1945, Manguk Park; and from 3 October 1957, with the MacArthur statue, Jayu Park.
How does it connect to the boundary staircase?
Following the Qing-Japanese boundary staircase of Ep.2 uphill leads to this park, so the concession boundary and the general concession’s park link into a single walking route.

Checklist

See the full course on FitTrip →

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