Incheon

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Incheon Metropolitan City is a metropolitan city and major seaport on the west coast of South Korea, near Seoul. Its geographical location is .

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Human settlement on the location goes back to the Neolithic. In modern times Incheon became important because its location on an estuary makes it a good harbor; when the port was founded in 1883, the city's population was only 4,700. It was called Chemulpo in that period. Incheon now has an international airport, and it was one of the venues for the 2002 Football World Cup. It is also under the control of one of the two Free Economic Zone Authorities in Korea, which is aimed at attracting foreign investment. Incheon is striving to become Asia's newest financial and corporate hub along with Korea's Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority, which is centered around the busy southern harbor of Busan.

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The city boundaries include an area of 964.53 km², of which 21 percent is rice paddies and another 44 percent is forested.

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Incheon was the site of the "Inchon Landing," a United States troop landing on September 15, 1950, in order to relieve pressure on the Pusan Perimeter and to launch a United Nations drive northward. The USS Inchon is named for the tide-turning battle that ensued.

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Incheon is sometimes regarded as part of the greater Seoul metropolitan area due to the close distance of the capital, and the fact that the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is linked to the Incheon Subway system. Incheon is, however, a major city in its own right. This is recognized politically in that Incheon is a separate jurisdiction from Seoul. The city now has the main international airport for South Korea and Seoul: Incheon International Airport.

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The city is also home to K-League soccer side Incheon United.

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Metropolitan city: REDIRECT metropolis...

South Korea: South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: ????, Daehan Minguk ;), is a country located in East Asia, in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is commonly called Hanguk (Han Nation) or Namhan (South Han) by South Koreans and Namjos?n (South Chos?n) by North Korea....

Seoul: Seoul (??, ) is the capital of South Korea and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. It is a designated special city. On the establishment of South Korea (the Republic of Korea) in 1948 it became the capital of the country,...