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Few Korean cities pair cutting-edge science with Confucian heritage as easily as Daejeon. Home to the research district of Daedeok Innopolis, the KAIST university and dozens of national laboratories, the city of about 1.5 million people in the centre of the country also keeps elegant wooden houses of Joseon scholars, wooded hills and a hot spring quarter.
Daejeon grew quickly after the railway arrived in the early 20th century and became a major junction between Seoul and the south. In 1993 it hosted an international expo, which left behind the Hanbit Tower, the Expo Bridge and a cluster of museums, gardens and science attractions along the Gapcheon stream that still form the city's leisure heart.
Spend a day around the expo grounds and Hanbat Arboretum, then visit Uam Historic Park and Dongchundang House for a glimpse of the 17th century. Soak your feet in Yuseong's free hot spring baths, walk the barefoot trail on Gyejoksan and queue for fried soboro bread at Sungsimdang.
Built for the Taejon Expo of 1993, this riverside park is crowned by the Hanbit Tower, a 93-metre landmark whose height nods to the expo year. Walk across the Expo Bridge over the Gapcheon stream, take in the plazas and fountains, and come back after dark, when the bridge and tower are lit up.
Next to the expo grounds in Yuseong, the national science museum fills several halls with natural history, Korean science and technology, hands-on experiments and a planetarium. Dinosaur skeletons are a favourite with children. Plan at least half a day, and arrive early on weekends.
Set among lawns between the expo area and Hanbat Arboretum, the city's main art museum stages changing exhibitions of Korean and international modern and contemporary art, with a sculpture garden outside. Its neighbour, the Lee Ungno Museum, is a short walk away, so the two pair easily.
This museum is devoted to Goam Lee Ungno, a Korean painter who spent his later career in Paris and is celebrated for abstract compositions built from brushstroke characters. The low, light-filled building was designed by French architect Laurent Beaudouin. Exhibitions change, so check before you go.
This park honours Song Si-yeol, known by his pen name Uam, one of the most influential Confucian scholars of 17th-century Joseon. Traditional wooden lecture halls, a shrine and the Namganjeongsa pavilion sit around a lotus pond below wooded hills. Autumn colours make it especially lovely.
In the Hoedeok area, this elegant wooden house belonged to Song Jun-gil, a 17th-century Confucian scholar whose pen name, Dongchundang, it still carries. Its raised floors, simple lines and garden setting show refined Joseon taste, and it is listed as a national Treasure. A park surrounds it.
Yuseong has been a hot spring town for centuries, and spa hotels still cluster in the district. The easiest way to try the water is at the free outdoor foot baths along the stream, where locals sit and soak their feet in warm spring water. Bring a small towel, and come in the evening when it is lit.
Founded in 1956 near Daejeon Station, this family bakery has become a city icon and a reason in itself for many to visit. Its best-known treat is the fried soboro bread, a crumbly, crisp roll filled with sweet red bean paste. Expect queues at the main store in Eunhaeng-dong, especially on weekends.
Beside the Gapcheon stream near the expo grounds, this large city arboretum is split into east and west gardens with themed plantings, ponds, water lilies, greenhouses and broad lawns. It is free and popular with families and joggers. Spring blossoms and autumn leaves are the high points.
On the eastern edge of the city, Gyejoksan is loved for its long red clay trail, a soft path that many walkers follow barefoot under the trees. Near the summit stand the restored stone walls of an ancient mountain fortress with views over Daejeon. Foot-washing taps wait at the trail ends.
In the hills of Seo-gu, this forest is famous for its tall stands of metasequoia trees, which turn rusty orange in autumn. A raised walkway leads through the treetops, and trails and picnic areas spread across the slopes. Go on a weekday morning, as parking fills fast on autumn weekends.
Ppuri means roots, and this riverside park in Jung-gu celebrates Korean family lineages with dozens of carved stone monuments, each telling the origin of a clan surname. Visitors often hunt for their own family name. Paths, a gazebo and views of the Yudeungcheon stream make it a pleasant stroll.
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