History of Daegu

Throughout and before recorded history, Daegu has served as a nexus of transportation, lying as it does at the junction of the Geumho and Nakdong rivers. During the Joseon Dynasty, the city was the administrative, economic and cultural centre of the entire Gyeongsang region, a role largely taken over now by Busan in South Gyeongsang.

Prehistory and Early history

Archaeological investigations in the Greater Daegu area have revealed a large number of settlements and burials of the prehistoric Mumun Pottery Period (c. 1500-300 B.C.). In fact, some of the earliest evidence of Mumun settlement in Gyeongsang Province have been unearthed in Daegu at Siji-dong and Seobyeon-dong (YUM 1999a). The Dongcheon-dong site is a substantial village of the Middle Mumun (c. 850-550 B.C.) and contains the remains of many prehistoric pit-houses and agricultural fields. Megalithic burials (dolmens) have also been found in large numbers in Daegu (YICP 2002).

During the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea period, Daegu was the site of a walled-town polity known in historical records as Dalgubeol. The first mention of Dalgubeol is dated to 261. We know nothing of its earlier history, and little of what came later, except that it was absorbed into the kingdom of Silla no later than the fifth century.

Silla

Silla defeated the other Three Kingdoms of Korea in the late 7th century, with assistance from Tang China. Shortly thereafter, the king of Silla considered moving the capital from Gyeongju to...
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