7 Hours in Daegu

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During my time in Korea, I was lucky to have visited cities besides Seoul. One of the cities is Daegu!

Can you call 7 hours in Daegu really visiting there? I think so. Based on the other places I’ve been to in South Korea, Daegu was my favorite. It’s significantly smaller than Seoul, and a little smaller than Busan, but doesn’t fall short to both cities. Even though my plans were foiled by certain circumstances, I still do not regret anything of my short trip.

Hiking Apsan

Ends of branches that are in the shape of birds!

Apsan is a mountain in Daegu that has this wonderful observatory, where you can see all of Daegu. I wanted to climb all the way up there, but there were some problems.

I think the only thing I ate before attempting that hike was a Melona ice cream bar (one of my favorites). Also, I  had all of my stuff with me, because the lockers in the subway station needed exact bills and I had no change. Prior to going to Apsan, I read Tripadvisor reviews and they were mixed. Some said the hike wasn’t that bad, and others said it was all just uphill.

I can help attest that, in fact, it is all uphill.

There is a cable car that can take you to the observatory, but before getting there you still need to hike a certain amount. That certain amount, I think, almost made me faint. Or get a nose bleed. Something along those lines, and I thought it’s safer to just head back down.

Instead of going to the observatory, I went along a different trail, where I saw the branches that resembled like birds.

Lots of elders hung out right here, exercising and talking.

There’s lots to see around the area of the mountain, too, so I did not leave unhappy!

A lovely park near the mountain.
“Stretching”!
Goodbye, Apsan. I ultimately lost the battle, but won the war.

Sentimental Stroll Along a River

I’m an idiot and did not document what river this was!!!

Apsan took longer than expected, and the place I wanted to go to next, Daegu Arboretum, was closing soon, so I just walked around until I found a subway station. While walking, I came across this river, and since most rivers in Korea are well-kept, I decide to walk along it until it was time to catch my bus to Busan.

I was walking towards and during sunset, which was such a sweet time. The temperature was cool and the sun rays were reflected by the clouds and river.

There were lots of things I thought about while walking. Most was just about the impending end to my time in Korea. What else do I have to do? When do I have the time to do that? Do I have enough money to do those things? Why did I only start to think of these things now?

Walking back to the station…

I think the reason why my 7 hours in Daegu is my favorite is because, despite my thoughts, everything around me was so serene. I think this is my happy place, and I really want to go back one day.

Tierra Lu

*BASAA Scholarship <i>Hello in your host country language</i>: ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š” (Annyeonghaseyo) <i>University</i>: Middlebury College <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2019 <i>Destination</i>: Seoul, South Korea <i>Program Provider</i>: Ewha Woman's University International Exchange and Study Abroad Program <i>Major / minor</i>: English and American Literatures <i>Language of Study</i>: Korean <i>Demographic background</i>: First-generation, Asian-American <i>Future career aspirations</i>: Novelist <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: be able to speak Korean well; take all opportunities given; make friends from all parts of the world