After lunch we were dropped off by an old Victorian brick style post office. This was infact the old Customs building for the port from the Japanese Colonial time. I'd been to Incheons Colonial area before and seen some of the old Banks and Japanese buildings that had survived. I was again surprised to see such things this far south in a region not too famous for such heritage.

The building was closed to the public but faced a much larger Modern History Museum. The ground outside the museum indicated two more such historical buildings only 100 metres and 300 metres away so I went over for a quick look.

There were other European or German style buildings currently having new paving stones installed outside. We later found out that these buildings and a much larger one slightly further away are closed while the area undergoes historical renovations.

Again this was surprising and not something I would expect to find in this unheard of industrial port city of Gunsan along with the Japanese Temple we had just visited (see previous entry)

Inside the Museum the large main hall housed a giant lighthouse as an architectural feature around the third floor staircase. Entrance was free and we began exploring.

The first floor exhibit talked about the maritime history and had an old replica style sail ship. The other articles seemed typical of museums except for a seated pedestal that would be carried by four bearers.

You then goto the third floor where the real gem of the museum lay. This was a recreated 1930s style street with several side streets. It was fun walking thru the living history streets and going into the different houses which had different exhibits and activities.

Coming down its best to go by the staircase by the lighthouse so as not to miss the small exhibition rooms. The smaller second and first floor exhibit rooms had other displays including many early photographs of life in the region.

Here is the Museum's English website
http://museum.gunsan.go.kr/content/sub0 6/06_08.jsp

There is more Japanese Colonial Heritage in Incheon which you can read about on this entry
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/londone7/1/1310761867/tpod.html