Daegu?

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Daegu Metropolitan City
Korean name
Revised Romanization	Daegu Gwangyeoksi
McCune-Reischauer	Taegu Kwangyŏksi
Hangul	대구 광역시
Hanja	大邱廣域市
Short name	Daegu (Taegu; 대구)
Statistics
Population	2,500,000 (2002 estimate)
Area	885.62 km²
Government	Metropolitan City
Administrative divisions	7 wards (Gu), 1 county (Gun)
Region	Yeongnam
Dialect	Gyeongsang
Location map
Map of South Korea highlighting the city

Daegu is the 4th largest city in South Korea, and is officially called Daegu Metropolitan City. The city is located in North Gyeongsang province and the capital of the province. Its geographical location is 35°52′ N 128°36′ E.

History

Historical documents show that as early as 261 the city was recognized as Dalbeol, and the city was given its current name in 757. In 1601, Daegu became the administrative capital of the former Gyeongsang province, and the city has been the capital of North Gyeongsang province since that province's formation in 1896. It's the capital of the province today. In the 1980s, Daegu became a separately administered provincial-level Directly Governed City (Jikhalsi), and was redesignated as a Metropolitan City (Gwangyeoksi) in 1995.

Daegu is the largest city in the North Gyeongsang region. During the Joseon Dynasty, the city was the administrative, economic and cultural centre of the entire Gyeongsang region, a role largely taken over now by Busan in South Gyeongsang.

During the Korean War, much heavy fighting occurred nearby along the Nakdong River. Daegu sat inside the Busan Perimeter, however, and therefore remained in South Korean hands throughout the war. After the war the city underwent explosive growth, and the population has increased more than tenfold since.

On February 18, 2003, a mentally ill man set fire to a train of the Daegu Metropolitan Subway stopped at Jungangno station. The resulting blaze killed nearly 200 persons, making the Daegu subway fire one of the worst disasters in South Korea since the end of the Korean War.

Today, Daegu is the 4th largest metropolitan area in population, and still 3rd largest in commerce of Korea.

Climate and geography

Daegu sits in a basin surrounded by mountains. Palgong-san to the north, Biseul-san to the south, the foothills of Gaya-san to the west, and a series of smaller hills in the east.

The Geumho River flows along the northern and eastern edges of the city, emptying in the Nakdong River west of the city.

Because it is in a basin, Daegu is hotter than the rest of Korea during the summer. The mountains trap hot and humid air. Similarly, in winter, cold air lies in the basin. The area receives little precipitation except during the rainy season of summer, and is sunny throughout much of the year.

Politics and Economy

Daegu is a conservative city. In the 2004 parliamentary election, Daegu voted in members of the conservative Grand National Party for every seat in the city.

The major industries of Daegu are textiles, metals and machineries. The quality of the apples grown around Daegu is renowned around East Asia.

Culture

Traditionally, people from Daegu have been seen as conservative, modest, hard working, and patient. The women are known as particularly strong willed and beautiful.

Daegu is known as the home of Korean baseball. Before the advent of the professional leagues, its high school teams were avidly followed. The city was a co-host of the 2002 World Cup soccer game. A new football stadium was built for the event.

Traditionally Buddhism was strong, today there are still lots of temples. Confucianism was popular in Daegu, with a large academy based in the city. Christianity has gained its ground, and churches make up one of its cityscape today.

Because of the city's rapid growth, the architecture is generally functional but uninspiring. Some exceptions do exist in older buildings, and in some of the newest, such as the dongdaegu station, and the Exco building.

People

Daegu's population is quite homogeneous with few immigrants. A number of immigrants from South and Southeast Asia work in automotive-parts factories on the city's west side. In addition, there is a small group of Englishpeaking Westerners working in the many English schools. The American military bases are also home to several thousand Americans. As elsewhere in Korea, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Western food is most common but recently Indian/Pakistani and Russian foods have become available.

Points of interest

View of south-western Daegu from Apsan Park, including some of the hills that line the southern edge of the city.