Incheon was first known as ‘Michuhol’
Incheon emerged as an administrative district known as ‘Marsoholhyeon’ during the reign of King Jangsu of Goguryeo (475 AD). After Shilla united the three kingdoms, the district was renamed as ‘Soseonghyeon’ using Chinese characters during the reign of King Gyeongdeok of Shilla.
During the reign of King Sukjong of Goryeo (1095~1105 AD), the district was renamed and elevated as ‘Gyeongwongun’ because it was the birthplace of the King’s mother. Later on, during the reign of King Injong of Goryeo (1122~1146 AD), the district was elevated once more into ‘Inju’ since it was the birthplace of Queen Sundeok. ‘Inju’ was almost razed to the ground after an unsuccessful rebellion by Lee Ja-kyum however it was returned to ‘Gyeongwonbu’ during the 2nd year of King Gongyang of Goryeo (1390 AD).
The district was restored because it was the so-called ‘Childae Eohyang (the birthplace of seven generations of Kings)’, a region intimately related to seven generations of Kings from King Munjong to King Injong of Goryeo. Once the Joseon Dynasty was established, ‘Gyeongwonbu’ was reorganized as ‘Inju’ once again. However during in the 13th year of King Taejong of Joseon, the royal court ordered every ‘gun’ and ‘hyeon’ (two county level districts) below the ‘dohobu’ administrative level with the word ‘ju’ in their names to incorporate either the word ‘san (mountain)’ or ‘cheon (river)’. Hence, ‘Inju’ became ‘Incheon’ which remains the name for the district to this day. Incheon has chosen the very day the district was renamed as Incheon (October 15, 1413) as ‘Incheon Citizens Day’.