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Daejeon
City in South Korea

Daejeon

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million.

Plan a trip to Daejeon→From Cheongju

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.

Get in

Getting to Daejeon

Daejeon is a road and rail transportation hub in South Korea. Two major expressways, Gyeongbu Expressway and Honam Expressway, and two major railways, Gyeongbu railway and Honam railway, are joined here. Travel time between Daejeon and Seoul using the high-speed railway system, otherwise known as KTX, is about 1 hr.

  1. 01
    Daejeon Station
  2. 02
    Seo-Daejeon Station

    The Seo-Daejeon Station began service in 1914 when the railway between Daejeon and Mokpo opened.

See

Worth seeing

There are 8 sites designated by the city government as scenic attractions, these are the Eight Sights of Daejeon.

  1. 01
    Sikjangsan Mountain Forest

    Open all year round, no parking facilities.

  2. 02
    Mount Bomunsan

    Observatory, recreation facilities, and cable cars.

  3. 03
    Mount Gubongsan

    Open all year round, no parking facilities.

  4. 04
    Mount Jangtaesan

    Accommodation, fish farm, deer farms, a children’s playground within man-made forests and natural forests.

  5. 05
    Yuseong Spa

    Wounded soldiers of the Baekje Dynasty are said to have been healed after taking a bath in these springs.

  6. 06
    Expo Park
Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Yuseong Hot Springs Resort
  2. 02
    Daejeon Observatory

    Here you can observe the sun during the day or any number of celestial bodies at night.

  3. 03
    National Science Museum
  4. 04
    Daejeon Currency Museum
  5. 05
    Daejeon Museum of Art
  6. 06
    Daejeon Art Center
Eat

Where to eat

In addition to the copious amounts of Korean restaurants and Koreanized "Japanese" izakayas scattered all over town, some foreign restaurants, including some offering Italian cuisine, can be found around the two main downtown districts of Dunsan-dong (opposite Timeworld) and near Jungangno station. Some nicer restaurants also still exist up near the World Cup Stadium.

  1. 01
    Indy

    Dunsan-dong (diagonally across from the E-Mart in Dunsan-dong, near the T.G.I.

  2. 02
    Loving Hut

    Shintanjin (from Korail Shintanjin station, cross the tracks to the wrong side over the rickety bridge, head north about 10 m, and then 1 block west).

  3. 03
    Sung Sim Dang

    Eunhaeng-dong, Jung-gu (near Jungangno subway station, a few blocks south, walk from the wooden).

  4. 04
    Flying Pan

    Eunhaeng-dong, Jung-gu (next door to Sung Sim Dang).

  5. 05
    TGI Fridays

    The obligatory local chapter of the international American bar/restaurant franchise.

How locals move

Getting around Daejeon the local way

  • Go nextAnother option to get to Jeju would be to take KTX to Busan and catch a ferry but this would be both less economical and efficient.

From Wikivoyage: Daejeon, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.