In 1890, the 18th Bank of Japan, with headquarters in Nagasaki, opened its first overseas branch office in Incheon to handle the expanding volume of financial transactions, raised by a sharp increase in trade between Japan and Korea, much of which took place through Incheon Port.
Many merchants based in Nagasaki engaged in merchandising trade in which they imported British cotton fabrics from Shanghai to re-export them to Korea, making colossal profits. As this business thrived and the related financing needs grew, the Nagasaki-based bank decided to set up a branch office in Incheon, which was, then, the center of the Japanese trade with Korea.

Later in 1936, the 18th Bank of Japan’s trade financing business was transferred to the Incheon Branch of the Joseon Siksan Bank, and in 1954 its former building housed the Incheon Branch of the Joseon Industrial Bank.
Hanguk Heungeop Bank was formed from the merger between the Bank of Commerce, Industry Bank, and Trust Bank.
The building, with its front entrance flanked by delicately wrought stone columns, has a hipped roof resting on wood trusses and is covered with Japanese-style roof tiles for an overall exotic appearance.
The ancient bank building is currently home to the Modern Architecture Museum of the Historic International Trade District.