Dear Korea CQ members,

From October 21 to 22, Korea CQ members visited Paradise City, the first complex resort in Northeast Asia located in Yeongjong Island and Incheon where tradition and modernity coexist.

H.E. Yasumasa Nagamine, H.E. Arslan Hakan Okcal, Pinar Okcal, H.E. Chaim Choshen, H.E. Baasanjav Ganbold, Mun-Adil Magsarjav, Joseph Young, Youngha Go, James Park, Hyunju Lee, Soyoon Park, Haewon Park, Sieun Song, Ian Jeong, Sherry Hwang, Youngjoo Lee, Eunja Min, Jake Kim, Choi Jungwha, and Didier Beltoise attended this trip.  

All participants arrived at the Paradise City, the Korean style resort complex combining multi-purpose hospitality facilities and entertainment such as a hotel, casino, convention halls, shopping area, art gallery, spa, club, carnival and performance.

Mrs. Elisabeth Chun, vice chairman of Paradise City warmly welcomed CQ members, and the hotel tour was started with the guide by Mr. Andrew Oh, Chief of Future Strategy Research Lab of Paradise City.

Members looked around the largest K-Style premium casino in Korea, presidential suite rooms, outdoor pool, the signature spot of the Paradise City, and other facilities.

Members also enjoyed the various art collections including Kusama Yayoi’s ‘Great Gigantic Pumpkin,’ Damien Hirst’s ‘Golden Legend’ and chandelier ‘Your crystal’ by Mioon, a team comprised of Kim Min Sun and Choi Mun Sun.

For dinner, we moved to the Italian restaurant ‘La Scala.’ We tasted delicious and unforgettable dinner; roasted abalone, mushrooms tartare, pumpkin cannelloni, roasted tenderloin, chestnut cake and persimmon sherbet, was specially prepared for CQ trip, generously organized by the Paradise City.

After having a wonderful dinner members went to their rooms to rest.

On the following bright and sunny day, CQ members had a Western style buffet breakfast at the hotel and moved to the Korean-Chinese Cultural Center.

Following the explanation of Ms. Eunja Park, our Incheon tour guide, we looked around the Incheon open port area and Chinatown.

The tour guide explained that Incheon was the first city in Korea to absorb Western culture and soon developed into an international city that boasted its cultural diversity. Incheon led Korea’s modernization. The port was soon surrounded by Japanese, Chinese and a number of international concessions to attract many international tourists, visitors and investors. Soon, many westernized buildings and facilities with a touch of the exotic were built.

Members first visited the Incheon Open Port Museum, opened to display the image of Incheon since the opening of the port, ordered systematically through collection, organization and research. We looked around the information related to Korea’s first railroad, Gyeongin Line and the Incheon Branch of Japanese 1^st Bank, current Incheon Open Port Museum, which was built first in Incheon.

We then moved to the Jemulpo Club. The building was designed by Russian architect Sabatin in 1900 and completed on 1901. It was initially founded as a social club for foreign residents in Jemulpo when Korea first opened its gates to the world, and has since been transformed into a storytelling museum.

Following the Jemulpo Club, members visited Jayu Park, or liberty park. The park has held its name ever since October 3, 1957 when a statue of General McArthur, who led the Incheon Amphibious Landing Operation during the Korean War, was erected at the summit of Mt. Eungbongsan. We could see the spectacular views of downtown Incheon and its surrounding mountains, the port, and the sea.

After having a short rest at Jayu Park, we moved to the Chinatown. The Incheon Chinatown is the place where government officials and people from the Qing Dynasty resided in the past, with the Consulate of Qing as its center.

In Chinatown, we visited Jajangmyeon Museum, and learned the historical and cultural values of Korean-style jajangmyeon.

After touring Incheon tour, we all had Bibimbap for lunch at the Korean restaurant Sura in Gyeongwonjae Ambassador Incheon.

Once we finished lunch, as the last program of CQ trip, Mr. Dal Cho, general manager of Gyeongwonjae Ambassador Incheon, introduced the hotel which presented a beautiful scene of elegant Korean traditional architecture set amid a forest of modern buildings in Songdo, Incheon.  

After the short tour, we ended our two-day trip.

CICI would like to express our gratitude to all our members for enjoying and participating in spite of busy schedules.

Thank you so much and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Korea CQ Nayun Shin

For more pictures, please click the link below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HzqodctxucWefaBL2