“Down in Daegu”

As much as I love living in Seoul; it can get old-just as anything else does! Occasionally, as members of the human race we need a change of scenery! As a result of that itch, my good friend Jean and I headed down to Daegu.

Daegu is in the Gyeongsang region of Korea-in the South East of the peninsula. Daegu is larger than Seoul in size, but has only 1/5 of Seoul’s population. It is considered the 4th largest city in Korea. Daegu has a rich history; ruins found in the area date back to 1500 BC. The city is also famous for a rich past in religion, education, and oriental medicine. Currently the city is a major business hub in it’s region. It is also a popular area for universities and sports.

We started our trip post-work on a Friday. We met at the station and boarded a 10:30 p.m. bus; soju and Coke in hand. We were the only two foreigners on the bus, as well as the only two who stayed awake-all of the Koreans fell asleep immediately. We enjoyed our drinks and conversation for the whole 3 hour ride.




Once arriving we checked into the “Pistol” motel and explored the area. Somehow we ended up staying in a slightly sketchy area full of love motels and business men’s clubs. We enjoyed some plum wine outside of Family Mart and then hit the bed!




Daegu was definitely more spread out than Seoul. It didn’t seem nearly as busy or fast paced. The air was definitely fresher! The change of scenery/fresh air was highly appreciated!

We started Saturday with a mediocre coffee and a taxi ride to Daegu National Museum. The museum featured relics from Korea’s 3 kingdoms, religious art, traditional folk displays. The museum was small, but interesting. We enjoyed browsing, but were slightly frustrated because we couldn’t read about the various relics.





Our second stop was Yangnyeongsi; the oriental medicine market. It used to be an open-air market, but in modern times is just an alley full of shops. Each shop specializes in special dried plants, herbs, and other medicinal products. The two specialties are reindeer antlers and ginseng. We browsed the shops and inhaled the aroma of ginseng for quite a while. We also visited the museum of oriental medicine-we learned a bit about it’s history and it’s uses. We finished our “healthy” part of the trip with Samgyetang (ginseng-stuffed chicken soup) and Insamju (ginseng liquor).







We also visited Duryu park. The park is next to Daegu tower, as well as an amusement park. We strolled through the park and found lots of interesting things to look at. The park was full of elderly men and women playing games, playing the accordion, and chatting amongst other things.





After a brief rest, we roamed through Yasigolmok, which is the “it” part of town. The area was packed with shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs-but wasn’t packed with people! It was so nice to be in a hip area without getting bumped into! We strolled the streets, ate dinner, and of course had a few drinks while bouncing from club to club. The nightlife in Daegu was similar to the nightlife in Seoul-drinks, dancing, street food, and late night taxis.




It was a short weekend, but it was a weekend spent outside of Seoul. I had a good time with great friends! I saw new things, got some fresh air, and met some new people! I hope to venture out of Seoul a bit more often!