Said around the trip is planned to start at Incheon International Airport. Now, it seems silly to mention an airport in as a destination for a RTW (round the world) trip, but trust me on this. This airport looks awesome. From idea conception (1992) to opening (2001) this project took 9 years, and is still in the making. In fact, currently it's only in between phases two and three. By the time it is completed in 2020, it will have capacity to serve 100 million passengers a year, and is on pace to become one of the busiest in the world.
In addition to passengers, the airport's cargo terminals can handle 1.7 million metric tons of cargo a year. That's 3,748,500,000 pounds, or roughly enough iPhones for everyone on the planet to have 2.
Regarding location, Incheon has some interesting history and interesting current problems. From the heart of Seoul, it takes about 45 minutes - 1 hour to arrive at the airport. (Set cab fares are about $50 or $80, depending on where in Seoul). A train is now open there, and many airport limousines (read: buses) take people from all over the country. Basically, the airport is on an island just outside of the city, making it slightly inconvenient. But, having been to Rome (40 minute TERRIBLE train ride) and from Columbus, OH (buses go what, 3 times a day?) the public transport is admirable.
Incheon, as history buffs will know, was a landing site of a major counter-offensive during the Korean War. General MacArthur arranged an amphibious landing on the island. This came as a shock to the North Koreans, who had pushed American and South Korean forces nearly off of the peninsula. This attack at Incheon, and the retaking of Seoul turned the tides in the war, and allowed the Americans and S. Koreans to push the North nearly to the Chinese border. (My reading indicates that the North retreated faster than usual, and set a trap for the American and S. Korean forces. Their retreat was with strength, and into the mountains.) As the Chinese joined the war, then, the stalemate began resulting in the lines we have drawn now.
The most recent time I travelled to the airport--which requires crossing a large body of water (Incheon is an island) it was interesting to reflect on the importance of the island to the Korean people, and to today's current geo-political landscape. Without the successful attack at Incheon, the US likely would have used an atomic bomb on the north. Use of the bomb after WWII would have set a nasty precedent that could have destroyed the world.
Incheon airport is a star, and one of the best in the world. Despite what I believe is the inconvenience of its location, it does its job, and is comfortable in doing so. Compared to other airports I've been to (read:Cairo) it's incredibly clean, efficient and modern. (I know Cairo has a new terminal, but overall....) Thus, we have our departure point, Incheon Airport.
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