Overview
Located in Jung-gu, Incheon, the Daebul Hotel Exhibition Hall introduces the history of the Daebul Hotel, Korea's first Western-style hotel. After the port opened, the Daebul Hotel was a Western-style hotel where foreigners entering Incheon Port stayed before heading to Seoul. However, after the opening of the Gyeongin Line and the Russo-Japanese War, as Westerners visited less frequently, it gradually declined due to financial difficulties and eventually closed. Later, a Chinese person took over the building and operated it as a Chinese restaurant called 'Zhonghua Lu', but after it was demolished, it reopened as an exhibition hall in 2018. The first hall, the Daebul Hotel Exhibition Hall, introduces the exterior of Korea's first hotel, the Daebul Hotel, its former prosperity, and its historical background from its decline. The exhibition is based on artifacts found at the Daebul Hotel site and materials about hotels and inns that existed around the open port during the Japanese colonial period. The second hall, the Jung-gu Life History Exhibition Hall, covers the origins of Jung-gu in Incheon (1968) and showcases the changes and daily life history of Jung-gu during the 1960s~70s through various content. (Source: Incheon Jung-gu Cultural Foundation website)