info: DAEGU
DAEGU
Daegu is the 4th largest metropolitan area 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 35째52' N
128째36' E.
History
Daegu was the capital of the former Gyeongsang province from 1392 until 1896, and has been the
capital of North Gyeongsang 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 English-speaking
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.
The most popular parks in Daegu are Apsan, a mountain with trails, Buddhist temples, a
Korean War museum, and a gondola ride to the peak; Palgongsan, which houses
many historic Buddhist temples including Pagyesa
and Donghwasa; Dalseong Park,
which sits inside a 1500-year-old earth fortress; and Duryu Park, which has many
walking trails as well as a large amusement park.
Nearby tourist attractions include Haeinsa—a Buddhist temple that
houses the Tripitaka Koreana
(a woodblock edition of the
Tripitaka and one of the
world's oldest extant complete collections of the Buddhist scriptures)—and the
historic city of Gyeongju, the capital of the
ancient kingdom of Silla.
There are five universities in Daegu, including Kyungpook
National University ([1], founded in 1946), Yeungnam
University, and Keimyung
University. There are also some colleges.
Daegu has two American military bases,
Camp Walker and Camp Henry. The bases have
an American School; the enrollment is above what the facilities can comfortably
handle, so some of the members of the foreign community home-school their
children or send them to a small Christian private school which teaches about 25
children near downtown Daegu.
Daegu is also home to the K-League soccer club Daegu FC.
For those who want to shop, just hit the downtown. There is main
shopping district which called Dongsungro Streets.
Also, there're some department stores, too.
Transportation
There are two types of buses which are local and limited express. Limited
express bus have more seats. As of 2005, Local bus costs 900 won, Limited express bus
costs 1300 won.
Bus route numbers are made up with 3 digits, each number indicates the area
that bus serves. For example, number 407 bus runs from zone four, to zone zero,
and then to zone seven. But, these are not always reliable, because some buses
don't follow the rule.
In 1997, Daegu Subway line number 1
was built. Line number 2 is under construction, which is scheduled to open in
autumn 2005.
Traffic is very heavy in downtown and some areas are
also heavy many times on the day. However, Daegu's major boulevards handle
fairly high volumes of traffic without too much trouble.
Daegu is served by Daegu international airport located in the
northeastern daegu, and also by the KTX highspeed train at Dongdaegu
Station, which was opened in 2004.
View of southern Daegu as well as the rural area south of the
city. The area of the city in the foreground is Beommul-dong and Jisan-dong.
Suseong lake and Woobang tower can be seen in the far
distance.
Famous residents
Famous people born in Daegu include former president Roh Tae-woo, Daewoo Group
founder Kim Woo Joong, and
actresses Son Ye-jin and Lee
Jung-hyun. For many years in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, most winners of the Miss Korea beauty pageant
came from Daegu.
Administrative divisions
Daegu is divided into 7 wards ('Gu') and 1 county ('Gun').
Sister cities
See also
External links
Article is licensed under GNU Free Documentation
License.
It uses material from Wikipedia.org Original article is here.
DMOZ: Daegu
Daegu Metropolitan City - With overview to
municipal administration, city council, tourist guide, culture, local economy
and business resources..
Regional
Asia South_Korea Daegu
Daegu Metropolitan Subway Corporation -
Describes the facilities and stations, the SMSC's vision and construction
updates, safety and service features, and management information for the city's
underground railway system..
Regional
Asia South_Korea Daegu
Daegu University - With profile, academic
guide, facilities and research organizations..
Reference
Education Colleges_and_Universities Asia South_Korea Daegu_University
Catholic
University of Daegu - Located in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk province.
Offers history, information on the college and the graduate school, student
activities, campus map, and international exchange program..
Reference
Education Colleges_and_Universities Asia South_Korea
Catholic_University_of_Daegu
Daegu National University of Education -
Information on academics, school history and scholarships..
Reference
Education Colleges_and_Universities Asia South_Korea
Daegu_National_University_of_Education
Daegu Haany University - Oriental medicine
school in Gyeongsan City. This official English profile covers campus life,
international exchange programs and fields of study..
Reference
Education Colleges_and_Universities Asia South_Korea Daegu_Haany_University
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World
Japanese %e5%9c%b0%e5%9f%9f %e3%82%a2%e3%82%b8%e3%82%a2 %e9%9f%93%e5%9b%bd
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Preview In
Daegu - Korea. International trade fair for the local textile
industry. Daegu. March 10-12, 2004..
Business
Textiles_and_Nonwovens Trade_Shows Archive
Kyungpook
National University, Daegu - Department of Mathematics. Lists faculty
members and journal publication. In English and Korean..
Science
Math Academic_Departments Asia South_Korea
Tres Dias
of Daegu, Korea - Features calendar, applications, upcoming weekends,
and the secretariat..
Society
Religion_and_Spirituality Christianity Organizations Renewal_Movements Tres_Dias
Daegu-Pyunggang Presbyterian Church -
Daegu, South Korea - Daegu, South Korea - Information in
English about the Korean congregation's English ministries, activities, and
programs..
Society
Religion_and_Spirituality Christianity Denominations Presbyterian Churches
Daegu
Metropolitan Subway Corporation - Describes the facilities and stations, the
SMSC's vision and construction updates, safety and service features, and
management information for the city's underground railway system..
Business
Transportation_and_Logistics Urban_Transport Transit_Systems Subways Cities
Daegu Airport - Includes airport guide to
shopping facilities, passenger terminals, history, phone contacts, flight
schedules, local tour guides, and statistics..
Business
Transportation_and_Logistics Aviation Airports By_Region Asia South_Korea
Kyungpook
National University - Located in Daegu. With overview,
administration, student life, academics, admissions, campus life, and
resources..
Reference
Education Colleges_and_Universities Asia South_Korea
Kyungpook_National_University
Korea
Corp. Co., Ltd. - Maker of hub caps, and disc clutch hubs. Locations in
Seoul and Daegu. [Korean, English].
Regional
Asia South_Korea Business_and_Economy Automotive Parts
Arrests
over Daegu subway disaster - [CNN].
News
Online_Archives CNN.com 2003 February Asiapcf
Daeyeong
Textile Co. - Manufacturer and exporter of various fabrics. Headquartered in
Daegu with a factory in Hapcheon. [Korean, English].
Regional
Asia South_Korea Regions Gyeongsang
Global
Christian School - With information on curriculum, tuition, faculty, and
school life. With campuses in Seoul and Daegu..
Regional
Asia South_Korea Education International_Schools
Double
Wheel Inline Skating Club - News, events, photo gallery, video clips,
related links, and a message board for a slalom and freestyle inline skating
club based in Daegu (English and Korean)..
Sports
Skating Roller_Skating Regional South_Korea
Samjung
Company - Manufactures various steel plates and related products. Facility,
corporate and product information. Headquartered in Daegu with a factory
in Pohang..
Regional
Asia South_Korea Gyeongbuk Business_and_Economy