A Solo Weekend in Daegu, South Korea
I've been to Daegu once before with my boyfriend and we fell in love with it. Daegu is oen of the few cities in Korea that has held on to a large youth culture, as many 20-30 year olds in other cities move to Seoul for work and leave the towns with the vry young and the very old. This has caused Daegu to keep a cool night life, cafe culture, and art scene alive and makes it such a fun place to visit.
I headed there on a Sunday morning on the ITX which is significantly slower than the KTX, but much cheaper. I slept hard on the train and arrived around 10:30.
First stop, food.
I took the bus to the southern end of Daegu to visit Apsan Veranda, a little flower shop meets cafe. I arrived 6 minutes after it opened and the place was already full! I was starving and nothing else was open in the area so I waited and boy, am I glad I did.
I got the shrimp pesto toast and it was absolutely amazing. The pesto wasn't too overwhelming as it often is here in Korea and the lime was a great touch. They also get bonus points for adding some raspberries and cherries to the mix!
Apsan Veranda - http://naver.me/F3BgnWtV
After being recharged with brunch, I headed to the Banweoldang area where I mailed myself a Christmas letter (more on that in the vlog) and visited the cutest book store called Ghost Books. It had plenty of art and photography books along with postcards and posters so even if you can't read Korean, you can browse their sweet collection.
February 28/Santa Letter Park - http://naver.me/FyaX7M68
Ghost Books - http://naver.me/FJ2ABNRM
I then hopped in a taxi (I could have taken the bus but I had just missed it and didn't want to wait another 15 minutes in the heat) and visited Kim Gwang Seok Street. Kim Gwang Seok is most easily compared to Bob Dylan and is one of Korea's most beloved folk singers. He wrote songs about going to the military, being a good son, and growing up in the harsh dictatorship environment. He was born in Daegu and has an entire neighborhood dedicated to him. The streets are filled with murals celebrating the musician and street performers are always there covering his most loved songs.
Kim Gwang Seok Street - http://naver.me/GGOwSEQp
It was one of the hottest days of the summer, so after getting thoroughly covered in sweat walking around Kim Gwang Seok Street, I took shelter in a cafe nearby. Ie Cafe is a house decorated in classic 60s style and the most adorable golden retriever is there to greet you. He brings his toy over to every person that walks in and is incredibly calm and friendly. I will be honest, I went there more for the dog than the coffee.
Ie Cafe (dog!!!) - http://naver.me/FPTbAI8M
I had an awkward amount of time on my hands before I could check into my AirBnb, so I decided to take a quick ride over to 83 Tower to see Daegu from a different angle. To be honest, it's nothing too special so unless you really want to see this view, I'd suggest skipping it. The best thing about the tower was that there's an area for people to bungee jump off and one couple decided to do it while I was watching. The boy was sooooo scared and a crowd gathered to watch his minor meltdown. He jumped well though and when I saw him afterwards he seemed very proud of himself haha!
83 Tower - http://naver.me/x3sqYT21
That night I met up with an old friend and wandered around the area near my AirBnb, but I was so tired from my early morning trip that I didn't take any pictures and went straight to bed around 11pm.
The next morning, I headed out for coffee and a morning treat. To get to the cafe, I had to walk through Medicine Street, which is a cool collection of traditional Korean medicine stores and the air smells so strongly of all the herbs and other ingredients. Just strolling through here made me feel healthier.
I arrived at Romance Papa and grabbed a seat next to the AC. The little house was filled with cute hidden areas to sit in and plenty of antiques to admire. I got an americano and a green tea donut and the combination was magic!
Medicine Street - http://naver.me/5PQ5xyvF
Romance Papa Cafe - https://www.instagram.com/romanticpapa/
I then headed out to see the Catholic Cathedral and the Presbyterian Church nearby. These buildings were some of the first of their kind in Korea, as Daegu is actually where Catholicism even started in the country! Near the Presbyterian church you can see the Western-style houses where the missionaries lived. It's a really cool place to explore whether you're religious or not!
Catholic and Presbyterian Churches - http://naver.me/xgdPUoWf
I had just enough time to stop at a bakery before going to the train station, so I grabbed some fresh cream cheese bread at Samsong Bakery, which was worth the money, trust me! Then I started my slow commute back to Seoul.
Samsong Bakery - http://naver.me/5FuCK2R
