Get in

By plane

Daegu Airport (TAE/RKTN) has some services toSeoul, Jeju, China, Philippines and Bangkok. The airport is quite small and shared with the Airforce.

It is located in eastside of the city. To go to the downtown area, there is a bus (No. 401, Fare: W1,100) and you can also ride a taxi. (Dongsungro district(Centre of the city/fare around W7,000, 25min), Dongdaegu train station (Around W3,000, 10min)).

There is a hotel, Hotel Airport in the same area. The roomrate is usually from around W130,000 including tax.

By train

There are two train stations in the city. One is Dongdaegu(East Daegu) station and the other is Daegu station. Both two stations connect by Subway Line 1, as the same name.

• Dongdaegu(East Daegu) station

It is the main, larger station. Note that KTX trains stop only at this station. KTX trains connect Seoul to Busan via Daegu and Daejeon, usually they take an hour and 40 minutes to Seoul and an hour to Busan. They are usually in every 20~30 minutes. The fare to Seoul is W36,600, Busan is W10,800 and Daejeon is W16,100. (At the time of June 2008) There are other trains such as Saemaeul and Mugunghwa. They also go to Seoul and Busan. (Gyeongbu line) But you can go to other places from this station. There are trains to Yeongcheon and Pohang, Gyeongju, Ulsan and Haeundae.(Haeundae is a very famous beach in Busan city)

• Daegu station

It is located in the centre of the city(Dongsungro/Jungangro). The station is a complex building with Lotte department store(the largest domestic department chain). Only Saemaeul and Mugunghwa trains stop at this station. Because of its location, it is easy to access to the downtown(5 to 10 min by walk) or other places of the city.

For travelling by train, visit an Official website of Korail. It provides Timetables, fare, and some informations around their stations.

By car

1. Gyungbu highway located between Daejun and Kyong Ju

By bus

There is an extensive intercity bus system in South Korea. Buses go directly from Daegu to Seoul in just under 4 hrs. They only have 3 seats in a row allowing for larger and more comfortable seats than on a normal North American bus.

Get around

Map of Daegu

• Subway:

Daegu has a two-line subway network that intersects at the main downtown stop Banwoldang. Line 1 ( red line) runs from Daegok to Ansim and Line 2 ( green line) runs from Munyang to Sawol. Stops are announced in both Korean and English. Subways typically run from 5:30am to 11:30pm. Tickets can be purchased from machines or at a customer service booths. To enter the subway, scan your token and HOLD ON TO IT because you will need to insert your token as you exit. There are ticket machines marked " complimentary tickets" but these are for people with specific ID cards.

• Taxi:

Taxis are cheap and easy to find. Be aware that people in Daegu do not use street addresses. To give directions, you should give the nearest landmark to your destination such as a department store, hotel, or movie theater.

• PDA Rental Service:

You can barrow the PDA from Tourist Information Center at Daegu Airport, Daegu Tourist Information Center and some hotels for your trip. It will help you to travel in Daegu because it has contents for tourist information such as map, transportation, tourist sites, accomandation, restaurants and shopping, and GPS service. In addition, it also provides usful expressions in Korean, English and Japanese, and has a '119' key which will be used for emergency situation. If you have ID card (or passport for foreigners) and credit card, you can use the PDA for free but you need to pay the Communication fee. Tel :053-803-3633.

• City Tour:

When you have a difficulty to look around many places, you can use the City Tour Bus. It shows you many cultural remains and tour places. It opens throughout the year and starts at 10:00 everyday from Daegu Tourist Information Center, Dongdaegu Train Station and Banwoldang. It costs about 5 dollar for adult, 4 dollar for middle and high school student and 3 dollar for elementary school students.

See

Woobang Tower, landmark of Daegu

• Palgongsan : Pangongsan is the mountain which is located north-eastern of Daegu and about 20km far from the downtown. It has Birobong which is 1,192m peak in the center and also has some peaks such as Dongbong ans Seobong. Although it belongs to Daegu City as a addimision boundary, it contains 4 other cities and its total size is 30,593km². It looks like a sacred ground of Buddhism because there are many Buddhist statues, pagodas and rock cliffs Buddha in Palgong Mountain. Especially, Gatbawi which is believed to grant one’s wish once in a life has a lot of people from the whole country. And there is the Bongmu Reports Park between Daegu Airport and the entrance of Palgong Mountain and it has many playgrounds and equipments for tennis, Jokku, badminton, shooting and so on; you can enjoy variety sports with fresh air.

Hiking trails of Palgongsan: (1) Donghwasa Temple -> 20 min. -> Budoam Hermitage -> 40 min. -> Yeomburam Hermitage -> 60 min. -> Dongbong Peak -> 90 min. -> Ticket Booth (2) Pagyesa Temple -> 40 min.-> Pagyejae Pass-> 3 hrs. -> Dongbong Peak -> 2hrs. & 40 min. -> Inbong Peak -> 100 min. -> Bakhongam Hermitage -> 50 min. -> Eunhaesa Temple (3) Eunhaesa Temple -> 50 min. -> Bakhongam Hermitage -> 2 hrs. -> Inbong Peak -> 90 min. -> Gatbawi Buddha -> 40 min. -> Parking lot

Not only the Palgong Mountain, but also Apsan Park, Woobang Tower Land, Daegu Arboretum, Mangwoo Park, Gyeongsan-gamyeong Park and Gukchaebosang Memorial Park are also good sightseeing. And if you arrive in downtown, Dongsungro, you can enjoy shopping for jewelry and clothes and visiting Kyodong Market and Seomoon Market add you more fun.

Work

Like all Korean cities, Daegu has numerous job openings for ESL / EFL teachers at public schools and private academies. Most teaching jobs require applicants to be a native English speaker and to have a three- or four-year college degree. Salaries for teaching jobs generally start between 2.0 and 2.5 million Korean Won per month and often include free housing and round-trip airfare.

For more information about teaching English in Korea, visit eslcafe.com, worknplay.co.kr, and englishspectrum.com.

Sleep

Budget

Union Tourist Hotel: The Union Tourist Hotel is located just west of Daegu station. Rates are between 38,000 and 50,000 Won per night. The rooms are fairly large and clean but somewhat old, and the bathrooms, especially the bathtubs, are in need of remodeling. Nevertheless, it is a quiet, comfortable, and affordable place to stay. If you call to reserve a room, you receive a discount. Front desk number: 053-252-2221.

Mid-range

Splurge

Of course someone not on a tight budget will be able to stay at the better hotels in Daegu. Readers are cautioned though that what go as deluxe hotels in Daegu are not much better than "motel6".

The nicest hotel in Daegu is probably Hotel the Inter-Burgo, which is far out of the city center.

The next is probably the Walker Lodge, but is only for military.

Others include:

Eldis Regent: drawbacks include small parking lot that is overfilled at any event (weddings), usually weekends, but clears out in evening. Also rare for a taxi driver to recognize the name, expect to show a map or give directions from the Prince (nearby).

Prince: almost any taxi driver knows when you ask for the Prince Hotel. Parking area seems smaller than the others but generally with less trouble. Standard rooms are fairly large but many seem a bit run down. Water coolers in the hallways save on bottled water. Wireless internet reception varies.

Grand: Rooms roughly the same as the Prince. Has a parking garage but often a tight squeeze.

Daegu Garden: Rooms said to be not as nice as the Prince or Grand, is near a more active nightlife area.

Stay safe

Like the rest of Korea, all of Daegu is safe at any time of the day. However, Westerners, especially minorities, may encounter hositlity from drunken men, but this is rare and seldomly escalates.

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