Daejeon, South Korea

City in South Korea

About Daejeon

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a technology and research center, and for its close relationship with the natural environment. Daejeon is a major transportation hub, having developed as a railway town, and is approximately 50 minutes from Seoul by KTX or SRT high speed rail.

Etymology

The earliest record of the modern name 'Daejeon' is in the 1481 geography book, Tongguk yŏji sŭngnam. 'Daejeon' (대전 大田) is a Hanja translation of the native placeword for the area, 'Hanbat' (한밭), meaning 'Great fields'. 'Hanbat', is a compound word that adds 'Han' (한/often transcribed in Hanja as 韓, as in Korea), that means Great or big, and the word 'Bat' (밭), meaning field, leading to Big/Great Field(s).The 'Han' (한) translated into 'Dae' (大) - both meaning big, and 'Bat' (밭) translated to 'Jeon' (田), both meaning fields. The name Hanbat is still in use as a road name for Hanbat-daero (한밭대로), or Hanbat road, a road of 12.7 kilometers connecting Daejeon's Yuseong district to Dong-gu.[1] The name also exists in several other Daejeon landmarks and institutions, including Hanbat National University and Hanbat Baseball Stadium.

History

It is unclear exactly when humans first inhabited the Daejeon area. However, the Paleolithic site of Seokjang-ri in nearby Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, and the Yongho-dong site in Daedeok District, Daejeon, suggest that people lived here from around that time. From the Bronze Age, artifacts such as bronze items, dwelling sites, and pottery have been excavated, providing concrete evidence of sustained human habitation. During the Proto–Three Kingdoms Period, the area was part of Mahan, one of the Three Han states. It is believed to have been home to Sinheunguk (臣釁國), one of the small states that made up Mahan. However, some theories place Sinheunguk in Seosan or Yesan County in South Chungcheong Province, so its exact location is uncertain. …

Geography

Daejeon lies between latitudes N36°10'59" and N36°30'1" and longitudes E127°14'48" and E127°33'35" near the middle of South Korea. It is 167.3 km (104.0 mi) from Seoul, 294 km (183 mi) from Busan and 169 km (105 mi) from Gwangju. Known historically as 'big field,' the city lies inside a great circle surrounded by several mountains, with Gyeryongsan National Park straddling the city border on the west, and the foot of the Sobaek Mountain range just beyond the city to the south and east. Three rivers run through the center of the city: Gapcheon (갑천), Yudeungcheon (유등천), and Daejeoncheon (대전천). These flow roughly from south to north, eventually joining the Geum River which borders the city on the northeast. The river changes direction after leaving Daejeon, turning to the southwest and eventually emptying into the Yellow Sea near Gunsan. …

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Culture

Daejeon is the home of multiple arts and culture complexes, mostly centered around the Daedeok area. These include: Daejeon Museum of Art which hosts primarily technology-oriented modern and contemporary exhibitions Daejeon Arts Center which is home to local music and theater groups including the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra Laurent Beaudouin-designed Lee Ungno Museum, a large permanent collection of works by or related to the prominent Korean artist Lee Ungno Expo Science Park, built on the grounds of the former international exposition (Taejŏn Expo '93) is home to the Institute for Basic Science and the National Science Museum, Korea's flagship science museum which features a main exhibition hall highlighting harmony between nature, man, and technology, as well as dedicated buildings related to natural history, future technology, biosphere, a children's science museum, and an astron …

Transportation

Daejeon is a center of transportation in South Korea, where two major expressways, Gyeongbu Expressway and Honam Expressway Branch, and two major railway lines, Gyeongbu railway and Honam railway, are joined. Travel time between Daejeon and Seoul using the KTX high-speed rail system is about 50 minutes. The nearest airport is Cheongju Airport, about a thirty-minute drive north. Direct bus connections to Incheon International Airport exist. Daejeon has an extensive bus network that connects all districts of the city and surrounding areas. The system includes both local and intercity routes, operated primarily by Daejeon Metropolitan Express Transit Corporation and private bus companies. The main bus terminals, such as Daejeon Complex Terminal and Yuseong Intercity Bus Terminal, provide connections to other major cities across South Korea. …

Demographics

Daejeon is the fifth most populous city in Korea, with 1,467,468 registered residents as of 2023. The most populous district is Seo District (473,851 residents), although the district lost 32,219 residents since 2006, it remains the most densely populated in the city at 4,960 inhabitants per square kilometer (4,960/km2). As of 2023, the number of registered foreign residents in Daejeon was 21,949 (1.5% of the total population) with the largest representations being Vietnamese (0.5%), and Chinese or Korean-Chinese (0.2%). There are also smaller numbers of registered residents (0.1% or less in each case) from Uzbekistan, Mongolia, United States, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Japan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Taiwan, Pakistan, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Turkey. According to the census of 2005, of the people of Daejeon, 21.8% follow Buddhism and 31. …

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