Daegu, (대구, 大邱, literally 'large hill') formerly spelled Taegu, and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fifth largest after Seoul, Pyeongyang, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the nation with nearly 2.5 million residents. Daegu is the principal city of the surrounding Gyeongsang Province. The two areas combined are often referred to as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, with a total population of over 5 million.
Daegu is located in south-eastern Korea about 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) from the seacoast, near the Geumho River and its mainstream, Nakdong River in Gyeongsang-do. The Daegu basin, where the city lies, is the central plain of the Yeongnam region. In ancient times, there was a proto-country named Jinhan, to which the current Daegu area belonged. Later Daegu was part of the Silla Kingdom which unified the Korean Peninsula. During the Joseon Dynasty period, the city was the capital of Gyeongsang-do which was one of the traditional eight provinces of the country.
Daegu was an economic motor of Korea during the 1960s–1980s period and was especially known for its electronics industry. The humid subtropical climate of Daegu is ideal for producing high quality apples, thus the nickname, "Apple City". Daegu is also known as "Textile City". Textile used to be the pillar industry of the city. With the establishment of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone, Daegu is currently focusing on fostering fashion and high-tech industries.
Daegu was the host city of the 22nd World Energy Congress of 2013, the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2003 Summer Universiade. It also hosted four matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Geography[]
Topography[]
Daegu sits in a basin surrounded by low mountains. Palgongsan to the north, Biseulsan to the south, Waryongsan 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.
Climate[]
The mountains that comprise the basin 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. Data gathered since 1961 indicates that the mean temperature for January, the coldest month in Daegu, is 0.6 °C (33 °F) and that for August, the warmest month, is 26.4 °C (80 °F). The City's lowest record temperature was −20.2 °C (−4 °F), and the City's highest record temperature was 40.0 °C (104 °F).
Sister/Twin Cities[]
Atlanta, America
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Tsingtao, People's Republic of China- Taibei, Republic of China
- Milan, Italy
- Hiroshima, West Japan
- Almaty, Soviet Union
- Leningrad, Soviet Union
- Da Nang, Vietnam
