April is the month when spring in Korea begins in earnest. You can see the spring flowers blossoming everywhere, and enjoy the warming weather. There are places where you can enjoy cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, azaleas, and rape flowers, as well as places where you can enjoy outdoor leisure activities while feeling the bright sunlight. We’d also like to introduce some lodging options where you can sleep and relax in nature; along with restaurants that will entice your taste buds, and traditional markets where you can truly feel the essence of life in Korea.

There are plenty of areas where you can find cherry blossoms in Incheon. Every April, the Incheon Grand Park is covered with cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms spring into full bloom from the main gate to the zoo, and at night, the addition of lighting creates an even more beautiful sight. Jangsucheon is a seven-kilometer stream that runs from Incheon Grand Park to Sorae Ecology Park, and you can enjoy the sight of the cherry blossoms scattering across the water. SK Petrochemical Complex Cherry Blossom Park is located within the company complex, and is only open for a few days in April when the flowers are in full bloom, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for this information. The road that runs through the entrance of the Ganghwa Goryeo Palace to the northern gate of Ganghwa Sanseong Fortress is also famous for its cherry blossom road in the springtime. During this time, the decades-old cherry trees resemble a tunnel of flowers. And the Gyeongin Ara Waterway Maehwadongsan is famous for its white cherry blossoms, of which you can catch glimpses of their red-colored centers as they are blown in the wind.

In addition to cherry blossoms, hopefully you’ll get to enjoy the other trademark flowers of a Korean spring, including azaleas and rape blossoms. The Azalea Festival is held every April at Ganghwa’s Goryeosan Mountain. In particular, we recommend visiting the area around Baeknyeonsa Temple, where you can see some spectacular dark pink azaleas. To see rape blossoms, you can check out the wide walkways of the Gyeyang Flower Maru, and the Sky Garden near Incheon International Airport. From the Sky Garden, you’ll be able to see yellow rape blossoms and planes floating overhead at the same time.

※ Recommendations:
-Cherry Blossoms: Incheon Grand Park, Jangsucheon, SK Petrochemical Complex Cherry Blossom Park,
Ganghwa Goryeo Palace/ Ganghwa Sanseong Fortress northern gate road, Gyeongin Ara Waterway Maehwadongsan
-Azaleas: Goryeosan Mountain
-Rape blossoms: Gyeyang Flower Maru, Sky Garden

If you’d like to experience horseback riding, you can visit the Incheon Horseback Riding Grounds, located near the Incheon Grand Park. They run horseback riding experiences for both adults and children alike. They also have both outdoor and indoor riding grounds, so you can ride regardless of the weather. For bike-riding, Gyeongin Ara Waterway is a good area, as you’ll be able to bike in the warm spring breeze next to an expansive view of the sea. On Yeongjong Island there is the BMW Driving Center. There you can do test drives on their 2.6 km driving track and off-road course, as well as see models of vehicles from all brands within the BMW Group, including BMW Motorrad, BMW Mini, and Rolls-Royce. And if you don’t care to be behind the wheel, you can take the Ganghwa Story Tour, where you’ll ride on an electric bike driven by a commentator, while hearing about the history and culture of Ganghwa-gun. Along the way you’ll be able to go to the Yongheung Palace, Ganghwa Anglican Church, Ganghwasanseong Fortress, and the Goryeo Palace, all within the convenience of the tour.

※ Recommendations: (Namdong-gu) Incheon Horseback Riding Grounds / (Seo-gu) Bike-riding Gyeongin Ara Waterway /
(Jung-gu) Driving BMW Driving Center / (Ganghwa-gun) Ganghwa Story Tour

Ezer Park, close by to the Incheon Grand Park, allows you to borrow all the necessities you would need for an evening of camping. You can choose to stay in a tent or caravan, and will have access to amenities such as a library, restaurant, cafe, hammocks and a slide. The Duri Ecological Park Auto Camping Site is a camping area close Seoul that has a spacious and clean restroom equipped with hot water to make your camping experience more comfortable. To top it off, you can use their furnace to stave off the chill of the night with a campfire.

At the Yeongjong Seaside Camping Site, you can experience camping while enjoying the open sea view. There you can borrow the supplies you’ll need, and even have an outdoor barbecue party. The camping site also has playgrounds, biking paths, rail bikes and coastal trails that you can enjoy at your leisure. And the Ganghwa Camping Park was actually created by renovating an abandoned school. The playground area has been turned into the camping/glamping site, and the classrooms into restrooms and a canteen. Because of this, this camping site has its own charm that you won’t find anywhere else.

※ Recommendations: (Namdong-gu) Ezer Park / (Seo-gu) Duri Ecological Park Auto Camping Site /
(Jung-gu) Yeongjong Seaside Camping Site / (Ganghwa-gun) Ganghwa Camping Park

Incheon HerbLand is a place where visitors can view and purchase various herbal plants, as well as herb-based salads and other related wellness products. You can also spend time in their outdoor garden, where you can enjoy a cup of tea while reveling in the light scent of herbs. The signature dish at Soraesan Mukbap is mukbap made with acorn jelly. They also sell muksabal (chilled soup with acorn jelly and vegetables), tofu, muksuyuk, and pajeon (green onion pancakes). And you can make your meal even more delicious by topping it off with makgeolli, traditional Korean rice wine. The Seohae 5-Islands Marine Products Complex Culture Center sells seafood caught on five islands of the West Sea: Baengnyeongdo, Daecheongdo, Socheongdo, Yeonpyeongdo, and Udo. You can also enjoy a meal at a restaurant in the same building. On Yeongjong Island, the Sonamu Sikdang sells food made with basic seafood ingredients, and is famous for its unique table setting. The restaurant’s main dish is the Pine Tree Seafood Table.

Giwajibdam is a restaurant where you can eat well-prepared full-course Korean meal made with seafood or bulgogi. You can also taste other Korean delicacies such as steamed abalone and seafood pancake. At Ganghwa Manisan Sanchae, the main dish offered is Yakseon Sanchae, which mixes fresh vegetables and herbs, and is served with more than 10 kinds of side dishes. Seomun Kimbap is a restaurant that has been selling exclusively kimbap, the soul food of Korea, for over 40 years. Their menu consists of only one kind of kimbap, but because they are a famous restaurant, people travel from afar just to enjoy this signature dish.

※ Recommendations: (Namdong-gu) Incheon HerbLand /
Soraesan Mukbap, Seohae 5-Islands Marine Products Complex Culture Center /
(Jung-gu) Sonamu Sikdang, Giwajibdam / (Ganghwa-gun) Manisan Sanchae, Seomun Kimbap

From the Gyeongin Ara Waterway Observatory, you can see the Ara Incheon Passenger Terminal, Ara Bitseom Island, Sunset Bell and the West Sea Floodgates all at once. The Ara Maru Observatory is a circular observation deck located in the center of the Gyeongin Ara Waterway. At night, LED lights light up the deck, and the tempered glass floor of the middle aisle makes it dizzying to look down. Baegun Mountain is the highest mountain on Yeongjong Island, but because the mountain is not steep, most people can climb it without difficulty. At the top, if you ascend up to the Baegusan Observatory, you’ll be able to see Incheon Bridge in the distance, along with the small islands of the West Sea and the sunset. Lastly, we recommend the Ganghwa Seaside Resort Revolving Observatory on Ganghwa Island. Located at the top of the resort, the rotating observatory takes on the unique shape of a flying saucer. It rotates once an hour so that visitors can see all three sides of the see from it. You can also enjoy a relaxing brunch while marveling in the panoramic scene.

※ Recommendations: (Seo-gu) Gyeongin Ara Waterway Observation Deck, Ara Maru Observatory /
(Jung-gu) Baegunsan Observatory / (Ganghwa-gun) Ganghwa Sea Resort Revolving Observatory