Nakdong River, Daegu Branch

For sure, one of the reasons I miss Ulsan (my true home away from home hometown) so much is the gorgeous Taewha River that slices the city in two and takes you to the sea...whatever that sea is called.

 

Whilst Daegu has a couple of rivers of its own, Geumho River that caps Daegu to the north and Sincheon River, an old but artificial stream to the east connected to the former, its most impressive mass of water is the behemoth Nakdong River (낙동강).

 

Nakdong River is South Korea's largest river, travelling a nice 506 kilometres from source (in South Korea's highest city, Taebaek) to mouth (located in Busan) where it feeds into the Korean Strait. Nakdong and its offshoots drain most of the south east (and some of the south west) of roughly 23,384 square kilometres of water. Impressivissimo...

 

It is very possible to bike (or walk) along the Nakdong River from Daegu to Busan or (north) to Andong which has got to be life goal for those here longer than a minute. Bike route map of Korea here. (Interestingly the previous government had proposed connecting Seoul's Han River to Nakdong River via the Grand Korean Waterway, never happened, could have proved disastrous to local environments, but logistically interesting none the less I think.)

 

The Daegu branch of Nakdong River is reachable via one of it tributaries, the aforementioned Geumho River. Here the river is vast, peaceful, and thanks to cash splurge by the previous administration, very pretty. The strange Star Trek object in these pictures is 'The Ark', the focus of a previous post that is a landmark tribute to both the cash-hole Four River Clean Up project and the Gangjeong Damn that spans Nakdong River just before it locks arms with Geumho River.

 

Just a jump north of Daegu along the river, at Waegwan marks the site of an important battle between North Korean army and UN forces during the 1950's Korean War. In fact that was the furthest south the North Koreans came, failing to make it across the river into Daegu itself. A fascinating reenactment of the battle was played out three years ago to mark the 60th anniversary of the event. 

 

History aside the Nakdong River, on a good day, is a gorgeous walking spot that begs for an extended jaunt-along, if modern living wasn't an issue I'd follow it wherever it took me...