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I finally went back in Daegu after four years! This time, I was wearing a pair of purple tinted glasses.

I've been in this beautiful fourth largest city in South Korea back in 2018, but itinerary was mostly Kdrama locations and to catch cherry blossoms since it was spring time then. For autumn 2022 (and now an ARMY), my agenda was to go on a BTS Pilgrimage and see spots related to Taehyung and Yoongi since Daegu is their hometown.

In between, I also went to coffee shops after learning that Daegu is also known as a cafe hopping spot for the locals. Here are the places I've been to, in case you're planning to visit Daegu soon!

Glad they kept this BTS V Day mural in Daegu, a fan project during Taehyung's birthday

NOTES:

❤ Daegu also uses T-Money Card, and have really easy to figure out train and bus lines. I also mostly just walked around. Wrote more about Daegu's transportation system in my 2018 blog post.

❤ I stayed in Midtown Hostel Daegu, and enjoyed its quite central location. Posted more about my hostel in this post. If you're booking for a Daegu accommodation, consider areas around Banwoldang Subway Station or Jungangno Station.

Common area in my guesthouse where I heat my food and borrow plates & utensils

❤ I joined a tour bus to go to Daegu, but also tried KTX coming from Seoul which took only around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Blogged about this experience here.

If I didn't go with a tour bus, I would have taken an express or intercity bus from Seoul to Daegu. I usually just go to the Express Bus Terminal (the one with underground shopping mall and has connecting train lines), but there are other terminals around Seoul too that might be nearer your accommodation. My technique is I always just ask my hotel or guesthouse for tips! :)

CAFES:

All mentioned cafes were easily navigated via Google Maps

Since I have to eat anyway, I went for nice cafes during my Daegu trip. I learned from Creatrip's Must Visit Cafes list that Koreans "visit Daegu for authentic and trendy cafe vibes...".

❤ The Differ 더디퍼 카페

The Differ's compound looks HUGE and intimidating, but once you enter this former warehouse turned cafe and wine bar, the dim lighting was comfortable and relaxing even for a solo traveler. Ordered iced coffee and a slice of cake, and then enjoyed minutes of taking pictures of their Insta-worthy, medieval-ish interiors. Favorite is the corner with a huge Bichon Frise white dog plushies collection!

Intimidating entrance to The Differ

Just had to ask a stranger to take my pics with the Bichon plushies!

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❤ C'est La Vie 음악다방 쎄라비

One million heartaches for my 2 favorite kdramas shot in this vintage style cafe in Daegu called Youth of May and Snowdrop. C'est La Vie cafe was originally a set built for the Kdrama Love Rain. I was the only customer when I entered the shop, so again I was intimidate to push through. 😅 Thank God I found the courage to order iced americano, and take out my tripod for these self-timer photo souvenirs.

Scene from Korean drama Snowdrop shot here in this cafe

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❤ Mounhowazhang 문화장카페

Mounhowazhang was my third cafe for the day, so I just ordered tea to avoid caffeine overdose. The owner handed camomile tea and choco cookie in a plastic crate, which added to the hip factor of the experience. Unlike the other two cafes, I actually felt at ease in this place and even took a million self-timer photos lol.

Mounhowazhang has 4-floors of well designed halls, rooms, and a rooftop--it looks more art gallery than a coffee shop. Again, I was alone in this huge place during my visit, it can be overwhelming but in a good way! An interesting tidbit is that this building used to be a sauna hotel, thus all the tiles, small rooms, and bathtubs.

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BTS V Hometown Tour:

❤ Dalseong Park - Walking distance from my guesthouse, Daelseong Park is said to be a favorite of the locals. It has a free zoo and a picnic site, and a fave Kdrama Uncontrollably Fond was filmed here too. Taehyung visited this park as a kid, and even went back to recreate some of his childhood pics.

❤ Spotted random Kim Taehyung Artworks and Photos outside the park's walls and benches while looking for V's former school (Daegu Jeil High School).

❤ Starry Night themed BTS V Mural Street spotted on my way to Seomun Market.

Benches where you can rest and eat in Dalseong Park

A Starry Night tiled wall mural for BTS V in Daegu

Murals and benches with photos of Taehyung outside his school and Dalseong Park

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BTS SUGA Hometown Tour:

Namsandong Street, lined with music studios and instruments shops most prob visited by BTS Suga

❤ BAS Academy - Also walking distance from my guesthouse, Suga went to this music academy. You'll spot his photos on the entrance and even at the side of this orange building⁣⁣.

❤ Namsan-dong Instruments Street - (the one with a wall mural that looks like JK 😁). Suga mentioned this in his song INTRO: Never Mind. ⁣He studied & made music here⁣.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘢𝘯-𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘨,⁣⁣

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘱𝘨𝘶𝘫𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘨⁣⁣

❤ Flat Dumplings at Seomun Market - Said to be a favorite of Yoongi, and I loved it too! They're thin so you can wrap your choice of fillings, and comes with tasty soy sauce.

❤ Yoongi's Schools - He also posted pics here recently on his Instagram. All schools were easily navigated via Google Maps (or Naver, whichever app you prefer).

❤ Doncheon Station - I also took the train to 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 from Myeongdok and saw how loooong and far Yoongi had to walk when he had to choose between his 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 going home 💔

Bought takeout of tteokbokki and flat dumplings from this store in Seomun Market

Had a really inexpensive meal in this food shop in front of Suga's childhood school

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On my last night in Daegu, I decided to enter the restaurant right across my guesthouse for some hot, home cooked meal in contrast to my daily convenience store instant food that I usually just eat in my room. I ordered their pumpkin pajeon and rice cooked with bean sprouts, and it was very hearty and lovely. Name of the place is Yejeon 예전, which literally translates to "the old days".

A resto just across my guesthouse. It is also near the hanok Starbucks, which was still closed at that time

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Had a tray filled with convenience store snacks in my room in case I got hungry ;)

The only time I turned on and browsed the TV for this trip was during my chill days in Daegu

I really love it when a city is easy to navigate, has nice cafes and markets I can explore, and has the right mix of urban and nature without spending hours on the road. That has been Daegu to me. Second time here and I can still say it's the place where I feel most "at home". I hope I can go back again and again in this south-central city of South Korea, with different seasons and new places to explore that I can share again in this blog.

When I joined the BTS locations tour, one of our stops is a lunch in Yoojung Sikdang.

Yoojung Sikdang is popular amongst BTS fans as this restaurant used to be the go-to place for the boys during their rookie years. In fact, during our BTS tour, we just walked from the resto going to the old Big Hit building! I was imagining OT7 walking the very same streets before.

Sadly, Yoojung Sikdang was closed when I first visited with the tour group because of the Seollal holiday.

Babies! Pictures of the boys eating in Yoojung Sikdang:

After the holiday, I had out of city trips so I forgot about going back to the restaurant. I think it was on the night of my first day back in Seoul when I searched for Yoojung Sikdang's location on my Google Maps coz the street sounded familiar.

Yoojung Sikdang turned out to be walking distance from my guesthouse!

It's a bit of a walk, around 10-15 minutes, but doable:

Around my guesthouse are music schools and small agency buildings:

I just walked straight till I reach this street with Yoojung Sikdang's signage, which has the 2 black pigs and green strike background:

First visit, Yoojung Sikdang was closed but since I was with a tour group, I was able to get a decent solo picture, thanks to my new ARMY friends!

Anya, my ARMY tour friend from Indonesia!

Went on my own during my second visit, just to check if it is really walkable from my place. It was still closed, I think it was the Monday after Seollal.

Third visit and I finally got lucky!

Btw, I always go a little before lunch, which is usually the time I go out of the guesthouse. Fortunately, I never had problems with long lines and cues!

Super happy that I was able to enter Yoojung Sikdang, finally! The restaurant is filled with all things BTS from floor to ceiling, I just love the vibe right away! I think fans from all-over the world contribute to the resto's interiors. There are two girls who approached Yoojung Sikdang's ajumma owner after eating to hand her a TATA plushie keychain. ❤

Here's a sneak peek of how Yoojung Sikdang looks like from the inside:

On the other side are more cup sleeves, fan arts, posters, dolls, stickers, and other official and unofficial BTS merch. Sayang I can't take a picture of the full wall because there were other diners, but I guess that's something to check out when you visit this place too! 😊

Now, let's eat! The best part is that they have a lot of vegetarian offerings on their menu!

Yoojung Sikdang's English Menu:

Rice Wrapped in Greens - KRW 9000

Ripened Kimchi Steamed Dish - KRW 9000

Black Pork and Kimchi Hot Pot - KRW 9000

Black Pork and Stone Pot Bibimbap - KRW 9000

Bibimbap with Wild Vegetables in a Hot Stone Pot - KRW 9000

Wild Herbs and Vegetables Bibimbap - KRW 9000

Cheonggukjang - KRW 9000

Sausage Stew - KRW 9000

Soft Tofu - KRW 9000

Grilled Black Pork Belly - KRW 16,000

Grilled Black Pork Belly Red Chili Paste - KRW 17,000

Grilled Black Pork Belly Stir Fried Spicy Pork - KRW 16,000

Tofu with Stir Fried Kimchi - KRW 10,000

Chicken Soup with Ginseng - KRW 14,000

What The Boys Order:

BTS’ usual order in Yoojung Sikdang are the ssambap (Rice Wrapped in Greens) and heukdoeji dolsot bibimbap (Black Pork and Stone Pot Bibimbap).

What I Ordered:

Third Visit
Bibimbap with Wild Vegetables in a Hot Stone Pot. It comes with a lot of side dishes and a bowl of tofu soup so it is worth the price!

Fourth Visit
Tofu with Stir Fried Kimchi. Did not expect this huge serving size for its price, I wasn't able to finish everything! It's so good though, just like my first order. I wish I dined here daily during my long trip so I can try the other dishes, but this was already my flight day!

Yoojung Sikdang is not only a feast on the eyes, but the tummy as well!

The best part is, on both visits I got Taehyung cup sleeves from ajumma! You don't have to ask for it, she just goes around handing cup sleeves to her diners!

Ajumma can't speak English well, but she tried conversing with me on both times I was there, one was while I was checking out the wall of merch that she's trying to arrange. With my little Korean, I picked up the word chuahae / joahae which I learned from watching Kdramas to mean "to like" hahaha, so I just said "V!"

She also showed me fan art stickers and I think she was asking if I can recognize the fan drawings, haha! Even though we were struggling to communicate, it's a cute and happy moment to converse about BTS in Yoojung Sikdang.