Before I moved to Korea, I read a ton of blog posts about Seoul. I figured that living in neighboring Yeonsu, Incheon would allow me to relive the glory days of my foreign exchange days in Hong Kong, partying in a multicultural bubble with a perfect balance of East meets West. What I didn’t realize at the time is 
that depending on where you live, you’re not really “right outside” Seoul, even though it seems like it is on a map. If you’re stuck in Yeonsu like I was (the far end of Incheon) without a car, it takes over two hours to get there.
So after six months, do I regret having made the move to Incheon?
Absolutely not.
Thanks to my distance from Seoul, I avoided the sleep-eat-drink-repeat lifestyle that defined part of my twenties, forcing me to face real challenges and cultural immersion.
Reflecting on the last six months, here are some of my main takeaways from a city I now call home.
On Making Friends
Though I’ve always been a social butterfly, making friends in this neck of the woods (with the exception of a few foreigners) has been a little tougher due to my limited Korean language skills (please avoid this mistake if you plan on moving here, or at least learn the alphabet). As a result, I’ve had a limited scope of friends to choose from, considering that foreigners here are an ultra minority compared to Seoul. English speaking women are an even greater minority in my neighbourhood, which means most of the folks I have met are men – and most with the same intentions as the eternal bachelors below:
There have only been a few times where I haven’t walked into a local expat bar without being told by a gross, older married dude that I should come home with him to experience a “real dick” (kinda agree with you there, dickhead), get drunkenly slobbered over by men who aren’t interested in learning or remembering my name, or have men reason that I should sleep with them because “life is short”.
But I digress.
All that said, I’ve met some awesome people here – both Koreans and non-Koreans alike. Some, like my co-worker Elizabeth Alessandro, I wouldn’t trade for a hundred drinking buddies in Seoul – even if I have to endure a couple of expat fvckbois along with way.
On Communicating
By now, I’ve gotten the Korean alphabet pretty much down, I know the “survival” words and phrases, and I can direct a cabbie entirely in Korean – but my life would be infinitely easier if I didn’t have to depend on my bosses/ co-worker/ friends to translate stuff for me most of the time. My friends in Seoul have gotten by for years without speaking much Korean, but outside of Seoul, it’s a much bigger challenge (rightfully so; the world doesn’t owe us service in English). Just recently, it took me nearly two days to buy a ticket to Guam because the tour site was entirely in Korean, and I very nearly gave up as a result. Be smarter and more culturally savvy than me. Learn some Korean before you arrive.
On Transportation
Buses
If you’re looking for cheap transportation and a cheap thrill, ride a local bus. Nearly all bus drivers believe in braking suddenly, burning red lights and shutting doors on people. Olé!
Taxis
Taxis are ridiculously cheap for local trips, so half the time my co-worker grab a cab home instead of the death bus from hell. Most cabbies are usually pretty sweet; some will even try to practice their English with you and teach you some Korean along the way. Good times all around.
Korail/ KTX
Apart from a few buses or a pricey cab ride, the subway will be your go-to for getting to Seoul and its surrounding areas. This app makes it infinitely easy to navigate yourself around town.
Planes
If you’re looking to get out of town, Incheon International Airport and Gimpo aren’t too far away. Check out Skyscanner’s “Flexible” option to check out the cheapest flights at any given time.
On the Bar Scene
Here’s a fairly exhaustive list of the most popular foreigner friendly bars around Incheon:
A fairly big bar in the Songdo area run by an English-speaking Korean man. They have occasional open mic nights, and are the only bar I know of in Incheon that serve veggie burgers.
Owned by a super chill American expat named Aaron, this local bar is a popular hangout among the foreigner/ local crowd.
Standard Mexican fare and a friendly staff make this a fun place to have dinner and drinks before heading upstairs to O’Malley’s Pub.
I’m usually at O’Malleys once every 1-2 weeks. Karen, my favourite bartender in Korea, always greets me with a big hug, shares her fruit snacks with me, gives me tons of free tequila shots and even lets me DJ. She, her husband Tom and their staff are spectacularly warm, and it truly is the kind of bar where everyone knows your name. If you visit one bar in Incheon, definitely make it O’Malleys (and give Karen a big hug hello for me).
Cheap Shots hosts an open mic night on Wednesdays that is usually jam packed.
This small bar run by a couple of super friendly Kiwi expats is the number one bar in Incheon on Trip Advisor. The area is a little dead and it’ll be tough to get a cab home, but it’s definitely worth checking out for it’s cozy, laid back vibe.
A popular spot to get in-house craft beer in Songdo, with pretty good pizza to boot.
Standard dance club in the Arts Centre district. I spent twenty minutes here at the end of a drunken night with a Canadian and two French expats. From what I remember, it was rather meh.
My advice: if clubbing is your scene, ditch Incheon all together and head over to Hongdae, Itaewon or Gangnam.
On Working in Songdo
Songdo is one of the wealthiest areas in Korea, built from scratch from reclaimed land from the Yellow Sea. It features upscale housing, the tallest tower in Korea and beautiful development projects including the Tri-Bowl, Central Park and the NC Cube/Canal Walk – but as one of the youngest cities in the world, it becomes a ghost town at night. That said, it’s nice to take advantage of the peaceful, calm vibe of the city before it gets flooded with more people in the years to come.
On the Vegan Scene
HAHAHAHAHA just kidding. There is no vegan scene in Incheon. I’m the vegan scene in Incheon. With the exception of High Miso in Bupyeong, the Veggie Delight option at Subway’s and side dishes (banchan) at Korean barbecue joints, vegan resources are sparse. As a result, I usually prepare my own food at home, including vegan bibimbap, gimbap and japchae. I get yachae juk and yasai korokke takeout on occasion, though chances are they’re likely not completely vegan. When I make the occasional trek to Itaewon, I make sure to pick up vegan goodies from Sprout. It took me a while to get my vegan meal plan in order, but after six months I’ve managed to finally maintain a (mostly) vegan lifestyle in a meat worshipping land.
As you can see, my experience living in Incheon has ranged from heaven to hellfire, with a hundred anecdotes in between. But one thing is for certain: Incheon has built my resilience, made me more creative, and given me insight on the struggle of being a linguistic and cultural minority. I’m now stronger, much more resourceful and a lot more humble than I was before.
I wouldn’t trade that for all the Seouls in the world.
Have you ever worked or lived abroad? Share your stories below 🙂
Shari November 29, 2016 at 11:24 pm
Hi, by any chance, would you know if there are vegan options at Incheon airport? Thank you ?
Stephanie December 1, 2016 at 4:08 am
Hi Shari! I’m not too sure off the bat – I remember I ate at a slightly more upscale Japanese restaurant and there were vegan options. It’s huge, however, so you’re likely to find a few options. 🙂
Sam December 4, 2016 at 3:13 pm
I am not sure how you travel to Seoul, but, Bupyeong to central Seoul takes 45 min – 1 hour at most on the subway.
Stephanie December 14, 2016 at 2:06 am
Hey Sam – you’re totally right, I clarified above. Shouldn’t have referred to Incheon in general; I was living in Yeonsu, which is a lot further from Bupyeong 😉
Rory April 1, 2017 at 11:58 pm
Hi, I feel the same in incheon and in Seoul too. Quite isolated and most of the foreigners have been flakey, rude and strange. Do you.recommend anywhere to meet friendly foreigners in incheon? I went to songdo and it was dead and no one knew where the bars were. Are you still in Korea?
Stephanie April 6, 2017 at 11:49 am
Hey Rory! I’m sorry that you’ve been going through a similar experience. I made most of my friends in Korea through work, who then introduced me to people that they knew. I would recommend joining Meetups, or the OINK group on Facebook and attending some events. But – I can’t vouch for any of those folks, unfortunately, as I don’t know them and yes, some foreigners are pretty whack. I am no longer in Korea, but I can connect you with some good folks I know there if you’re interested. I would also recommend O’Malley’s in Incheon, the owners are really lovely and the crowd isn’t too bad. If you like, you can connect with me through my page on Facebook – Vagabond Heels – and I connect with you the friends I had there 🙂
Amber July 4, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Hi Stephanie, I am also considering accepting a teaching position in Incheon. It sounds like it’s a nice break from Seoul, but it does look like you highlight some negatives in this article. Can you please elaborate on the positives and why you loved it so much? Thank you!
Amber
Stephanie July 21, 2017 at 6:20 pm
Hey Amber! I should let you know that I didn’t end up finishing my contract and left 8 months into my contract. When I wrote the article, it was still a new experience but to be honest, in the end, it wasn’t the right place for me. I think people who enjoy Incheon like the fact that it’s a small, close knit community of expats, away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. English-speaking wise, it is difficult to get around, but it depends on what part of Incheon you’d be in (Bupyeong, Songdo, etc). Songdo is very new (one of the youngest cities in the world), but it’s also not very populated so I felt like I was in a ghost town half the time (I lived in Yeonsu, but worked in Songdo). If you have specific questions, feel free to e-mail me at stephanie@vagabondheels.com and I’d be happy to help you out. Best of luck!
Dew December 29, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Hi Stefaphanie
This is dew from Southkorea
I’m korean who’s living in Incheon and love to be a friend with foreigners !
I googled and found your article 🙂
Are you still in Southkorea?
Stephanie January 14, 2018 at 7:38 pm
Hi Dew! Unfortunately, I am no longer living in South Korea – but thank you so much for reading my article! And if you ever go by O’Malley’s, tell Karen I say hello! 🙂
Sharon January 19, 2018 at 2:07 am
Hi Stephanie, I’m Sharon form Korea, living in Yeonsugu and really touched by your article!
Um, I just wondering about is there any on-line site for foreigners in Songdo or Incheon?
I would appreciate it if you let me know 🙂 Also the Liquor Burger is one of my favorite haha
Stephanie January 21, 2018 at 9:07 pm
Hey Sharon! Thanks so much for checking out my site 🙂 When I was living in SK, there was a Facebook site called OinK (Only in Korea) – a big online community for foreigners. Because it’s such a big site, you’re likely to find a handful that are from Songdo/ Incheon. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OnlyInKorea/. I also met some people through Tinder (though most people obviously have non-friendly intentions). There aren’t that many foreigners in Songdo, so it was tough. Meeting people by going to bars was usually the easiest way. If you head over to O’Malley’s, ask for Karen, drop my name and she’ll introduce you to a bunch of regulars. Hope this helps 🙂 Good luck and enjoy!