Daegu

Daegu ([tɛ̝.ɡu], Korean: 대구; Hanja: 大邱; lit. large hill), formerly spelled Taegu[a] and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (Korean: 대구광역시; Hanja: 大邱廣域市), is a city in southeastern South Korea. Daegu is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is the fourth-largest metropolitan city in the nation with over 2.3 million residents; and the second-largest city after Busan in the Yeongnam region in southeastern South Korea. Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province are often referred to as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, with a total population of over 5 million. Daegu is located in south-eastern Korea about 80 km (50 mi) from the coast, near the Geumho River and its mainstream, Nakdong River in Gyeongsang-do. The Daegu basin is the central plain of the Yeongnam region. In ancient times, the Daegu area was part of the proto-kingdom Jinhan. Subsequently, Daegu came under the control of the Silla Kingdom, which unified the Korean Peninsula. During the Joseon dynasty period, the city was the capital of Gyeongsang-do, one of the traditional eight provinces of the country.