about daegu

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If you need help, Daegu Tourist Information Center is in the Duryu Park. They are open from 9-6 and very helpful in English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. They also have a library and free maps and booklets they can hand you. 627-8900. There aren't a lot of tourists here in Daegu, so these folks have plenty of time to help you. Don't hesitate to call them. That's what they are paid for!

Best of all, the Foreign Information Service at Daegu City Hall (429-2854) is staffed with three women who can tell you ANYTHING you need to know about how to live here... like how to get cable hooked up or how to get a Korean credit card. Ask them to send you their monthly newsletter on living in Daegu!

Inside of Duryu Park, The Art and Culture Hall complex hosts exhibitions and concerts. All over the park there are outdoor performances in the summer. There is a parking lot where rollerblades and skates can be rented. Look around and find a swimming pool, soccer field, stadium, hiking trails, a small Buddhist temple, great cherry blossoms in the spring, Oobang Tower Land amusement park (try the view from the top of the Tower at least once!). There is a lake that you can walk around, and there are (except in the coldest weather) lots of great people watching opportunities.

If you walk towards the river (east) from downtown you can find this pleasant park. It has plentiful benches, and is especially popular for skateboarders (near the bell), teenage couples (on the benches under the trees), hip-hop dance practice (everywhere) and also sports outdoor performances especially on the weekends.

These days on the weekends at the bell there is a reenactment ceremony with a Josun Dynasty style parade. Don't miss it! 3 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, the parade culminates in a ringing of the bell.

This park is next to Cine Asia. It's got a big traditional reception hall in the center, a stream with a fountain and lots of benches for you to rest and watch the people go by. The park is located on the historical site of the Gyungsangbuukdo governor's office.

There is an old rock sign near the entrance of the park that notified visitors that it's time to dismount from their horses, so that they will not run into the governor and be physically looking down on him.

"Front Mountain" is located along the south border of Daegu city. The mountain is crisscrossed with hiking trails, and easily accessible from anywhere in Daegu. There is a small dissapointing temple, a gondola to the top, and outdoor exercise bars in several locations.

Palgoeng Mountain is accessible by bus. Bus number 104 terminates at Katbawi and bus number 105 terminates at Donghwa-sa. Donghwa-sa is the largest temple complex near Daegu, in fact it's one of the biggest in Korea. The complex includes the largest Buddha statue in Asia (however, a new statue is underway in Bodhgaya, India which is going to make the Statue of Liberty look like a dwarf). At the same bus stop as Donghwa-sa you can take a gondola to one of Palgoengsan's many peaks. Or hike the pleasant trail up the ridgeline and access the peak on your own power. Katbawi is one of the best places in Daegu city, the trails near Katbawi will take you to several smaller temples and hermitages, and following a trail to the top gives you access to a large praying platform where there is often a chanting monk and a nearly 360 degree view.

Try the medicinal tea sold in little shacks next to the trail!