'Daejeon Metropolitan City' () is a
metropolitan city in the center of
South Korea. It is the fifth largest city of South Korea, with a population of 1,442,856 at the end of 2005.
It is at the crossroads of
Gyeongbu railway,
Honam railway,
Gyeongbu highway, and
Honam highway. Within the city limits lies
Daedeok Science Town, an area with more than 200 research institutions.
History
National Government Complex, Daejeon.
The Daejeon area was historically known as ''Hanbat'' (
í•œë°), a native Korean term for "large field", during the
Joseon Dynasty. The term "Daejeon" simply means the same thing in
Hanja.
Historically, Daejeon was a small village without many residents. However, in
1905, the
Gyeongbu railway began operations from
Seoul to
Busan, opening a station at Daejeon. Soon after, in
1926, under rule of the Japanese government, the
Honam railway was built between Daejeon and
Mokpo, transforming the latter into a major transportational hub. Because of its geographical location and proximity to means of transportation, Daejeon grew quickly.
In
1932, the capital of
Chungnam province moved from
Gongju to Daejeon. After numerous changes were made to the city boundaries, among them one that effectively made the nearby town of
Daedeok a part of the city in
1983, Daejeon became a
metropolitan city in
1995.
In
1997, the
Daejeon Government Complex was constructed in order to decentralize the population of South Korea from Seoul.
[2] The population of Daejeon increased dramatically as a result.
[3]
Today, Daejeon's population growth is the second highest in the country, after Seoul, resulting in a large number of new apartment complex projects and hi-tech industries in
Yuseong-gu.
Geography
Hiking path along Gapcheon.
Daejeon lies between latitudes N36°10'50" to N36°29'47" and longitudes E127°14'54" to E127°33'21" near the middle of
South Korea. It is 167.3 km from
Seoul, 294 km from
Busan and 169 km from
Gwangju.
Sejong City, which is planned to be the new administrative capital of
South Korea, will also be close by. The city is surrounded by several mountains, and
Gyeryongsan National Park straddles the city border to the west. Three streams which eventually join with
Geum River, called Gapcheon (
갑천), Yudeungcheon (
ìœ ë“±ì²œ), and Daejeoncheon (
ëŒ€ì „ì²œ), flow through the city from south to north.
Administrative divisions of Daejeon.
Administrative divisions
Daejeon is divided into 5 wards ("
Gu"):
★
Daedeok-gu (
대ë•êµ¬;
大德å€)
★
Dong-gu (
ë™êµ¬;
æ±å€)
★
Jung-gu (
중구;
ä¸å€)
★
Seo-gu (
서구;
西å€)
★
Yuseong-gu (
ìœ ì„±êµ¬;
儒城å€)
Education
Information and Communications University.
As a center of research inside the city, several educational instituations are located within
Daedeok Science Town. The
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is an institution of
higher education focused on research in science and technology, and was ranked as the best Asian science and technology school by Asiaweek in 2000.
[4] It is also home to the
Information and Communications University, which specializes in research in
information technology, and
Daejeon Science High School, which is a selective high school focused on teaching science.
[5]
Chungnam National University, a major
national university established for the
South Chungcheong province, and
Pai Chai University, which is one of the oldest private universities in South Korea, is also located within the city.
Culture
.jpg)
Expo Science Park.
In
1993, an international exposition (
Expo '93) was held at Daejeon. Several landmarks such as the Hanbit Tower and the Expo Bridge were built at this time. After the exposition ended, the grounds were refurbished as
Expo Science Park. Next to the park is the
National Science Museum, which had moved to its current location in
1990.
[6]
The
Daejeon Museum of Art, located in Dunsan Grand Park, is an art museum focused on the convergence of art and technology. Since it was established in
1998, numerous exhibitions on contemporary art have been held. Other cultural landmarks include the
Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, which recently began touring internationally as a cultural symbol of the city.
The
Daejeon World Cup Stadium was constructed in preparation for the
2002 FIFA World Cup. Several games have been held there, including the
South Korea vs.
Italy match in the second round. It is also the current home for the
K-League football club
Daejeon Citizen.
Daejeon also has an amateur football club named
Daejeon de la cuba which plays in the
Super Sunday Football League.
The city is home to
LPGA golfers
Se Ri Pak and
Jang Jeong, as well as the South Korean actor
Kwon Sang-woo. Daejeon is also the hometown of former
New York Mets left-handed reliever
Dae-Sung Koo.
Transportation
Daejeon train station.
Daejeon is a center of transportation, where two major expressways,
Gyeongbu highway and
Honam highway, and two major railways,
Gyeongbu railway and
Honam railway, are joined. Travel time between Daejeon and
Seoul using the high-speed railway system, otherwise known as
KTX, is about fifty minutes. The nearest airport to Daejeon is
Cheongju Airport, about a thirty-minute drive north of Daejeon.
Subway
A subway system with five lines is undergoing planning and construction in Daejeon. The first part of this system,
Daejeon Subway Line 1 began operation on
March 16,
2006, and entire line was operating as of
April 17,
2007. It is notably different from the system used in Seoul in its smaller car width; lack of doors between cars; fewer number of cars, use of four cars to a train instead of ten; and free space under the seats.
[7] The subway also uses round tokens instead of flat magnetic tickets as is the case with Seoul - the tokens are pressed into a sensor when passing the turnstiles, and inserted into a slot on the other side when getting out. The nature of the tokens allows them to be used for advertising as well.
[8] An interesting feature of the city's subway system is that the tracks are separated from the platforms by glass doors, which only open once a train has stopped. Thus, the danger of falling onto the tracks is avoided.
Central business district
Daejeon has become the recipient of the country's effort to decentralize certain ministries of the national government. The middle of the city or the new central business district called Dunsan is where the effort has manifested itself. Newer apartment complexes, albeit structurally similar to that of the rest of the city, sprung up around the new government structures being constructed concurrently in just a few short years starting from the mid-1990s. Newer municipal buildings including the city's courts and the province's main parliamentary building soon followed. The result is a several square mile neighbourhood full of restaurants, standard Korean western-type bars and coffee shops. The area is a place for the workers of the new Daejeon to live close to their offices, most able to walk to work, and dine and shop in a new urban environment.
Sister cities
★
Oda,
Japan — 1987
★
Seattle,
United States — 1989
★
Budapest,
Hungary — 1994
★
Nanjing,
China — 1994
★
Calgary,
Canada — 1996
★
Guadalajara,
Mexico — 1997
★
Uppsala,
Sweden — 1999
★
Novosibirsk,
Russia — 2001
★
Brisbane,
Australia — 2002
★
Binh Duong,
Vietnam — 2005
See also
★
List of cities in South Korea
★
List of Korea-related topics
References
1. Population, Households and Housing Units
2. Daejeon Government Complex
3. Daejeon, Larger Population than Gwangju Changyeop Oh
4. Asia's Best Universities 2000
5. Daejeon Science High School High schools in South Korea usually do not require special entrance exams.
6. History
7. Riding Daejeon Subway
8. Visiting Daejeon Subway
External links
★
Daejeon Metropolitan Government
★
★
★
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