Daegu, South Korea
After two days of work, I got to enjoy a day and a half of exploring Daegu before I head up to Pyeongtaek for my next work visit. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in Daegu when I got myself out and about. In the immediate area of the military base I wasn’t too interested, but when it was a Saturday and I could venture further into Daegu I ended up having an awesome day.
I started out my morning by catching the train and heading to a small brunch place called Mansion 5. It is a restaurant set in an old school style building. It had just opened when I arrived which meant it was for the most part empty and I had my pick of where to situate myself. I ordered a burrata fruit salad and a matcha latte to start my day off solid. The food was delicious and the location was beautiful. It was a solid little start to the day. Then I went off and wandered to see what I managed to crash into.
I found an area called Kim Kwang-Seok mural street. This is a street covered in gorgeous murals celebrating Kim Kwang-Seok. He is a folk-rock singer originated out of South Korea in the ate 80s. His career had him selling over 5 million records before he passed in the mid-90s, which was unprecedented for Korean artists. This street had so many beautiful pieces of art and played his music as you walked through the area. There was lots of cute shops and cafes in this area as well which gave me time to stroll and embrace the unplanned day. I stopped to get lunch at a small hot-pot restaurant that allows solo travelers to eat there and once again managed to have a bit too much soju for my own good.
One area I really wanted to check out was this cafe called the Air Cafe. It is a renovated plane that now hosts a small cafe outside of a mini amusement park. It was quite a walk to get there, but first I had to take the metro to get within 20 minute of it. This metro was by far my favorite I’ve been on because it was above ground. So as I am sitting and cruising along I am getting a gorgeous view of the Daegu city and the mountains surrounding it. I genuinely could’ve stayed on this train all day long. Tragically, when I arrived at the cafe I found it was closed for renovations. So I snapped a few pictures from the outside and decided to wander around the lake that was nearby. One thing I have loved about Korea is it feels like there is constantly some kind of music playing within earshot as you roam around.
Since that cafe was closed, I wandered into one that specialized in desserts. I got a Dalgona Latte (inspired by Squid Games) and a strawberry cake. The strawberries in Korea are truly next level. I don’t know what it is, but anything I have had that has been strawberry flavored here has been next level. I had one last thing I wanted to check out and that was the Daegu tower. It has a gorgeous observation deck overlooking Daegu. However as I was walking up, I realized it is actually inside of E-world, another small Korean amusement park. I couldn’t validate spending $80 just to go up the tower so I hiked my way back down the hill and got a picture from a distance. At this point I was about 18,000 steps into my day and it was starting to get later and darker, so I made my way back to my hotel. I was pooped and knew I would be getting up early today to make my way to Pyeongtaek.
Today after getting all packed up and checked out I made my way back to the train station. Once I got here to buy my ticket I was promptly informed that there was only standing room available on the train. I frankly, could not be bothered to stand on a train for 3 hours so when I was told I could get a seat on the 4:00 PM train I took that as a sign to spend the day roaming Daegu. I threw my suitcase in a locker at the station, and set out to explore. My wallet will be angry to know what I managed to find today is the shopping street of Daegu. So of course I once again spent far too much money on new clothes and skincare. I stopped to get some sushi for lunch and then came back to the station. I have about 2 hours still till my train, but I need to stop spending all my money. There is no room left in my suitcase and backpack and this will be a challenge when I fly home. That however is a future Katie problem. So I will sit in this cafe at the train station for the next hour or so drinking my matcha and listening to my audiobook.
Daegu was a pleasant surprise for me. It was a reminder that I usually have much better luck on my trips when I allow them to be unplanned. The week in Seoul was overly planned which meant I made many mistakes. Here in Daegu, I have made no mistakes because I have allowed spontenaity to guide this trip, and for that I am grateful. Less than one week until I am home (:
