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Daegu (Taegu) - History |
Taegu,
also spelled
Daegu is the
capital of Kyongsang-puk do (province) in southeastern South
Korea.
Daegu
is a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides and has the Geumho River and
Sincheon Stream running through the city. Inferring from the plain and
patternless earthenware excavated in this area, Daegu had become a major
settlement in about 1000 B.C.
Around
100 A.D. Daegu was called 'Dalguhwa' or 'Dalgubol'. It means big heights', and
it was renamed as present name, Daegu in 1780. It also means 'big city'.
For centuries Taegu was the administrative, economic, and cultural centre of
southeastern Korea. During the Yi dynasty (1392-1910) it was the capital of the
province of Kyongsang (until the province was divided into North and
South Kyongsang in 1896) and one of the country's three big market
cities. Since 1601, when
the provincial government office was
established in Daegu, the city has been the centre of administration, business
and military of Yeongnam region.
In
1907, under the colony of Japan, National Debt Repayment Movement, one of the
national independence movements began first in Daegu, which we, Daegu people are
so proud of.
Taegu underwent explosive growth from the 1950s and increased tenfold in
population in the decades after the Korean War (1950-53). In
July 1981 Daegu was upgraded to a Jikhalsi, or a district under the direct
control of central government. With the beginning of historic local
autonomy in July 1995, it became a metropolitan city.
Nowadays, Taegu is Korea's third largest city and has the status of a special city, with administrative status equal to that of a province. The city is an agricultural market and trade centre. Taegu is an educational centre as well. It is the site of several universities and colleges.
