Chilseong Market

East of Daegu Station, along the banks of the Sincheon stream, a produce market, a flower market, streets of furniture and kitchenware and a toy alley all run into one another. Locals simply call the whole cluster of nine markets Chilseong Market. It is Daegu's second-largest traditional market after Seomun Market: by day a working market full of traders and wholesale buyers, and from spring to late autumn a night market on the riverbank at weekends.

From an apple-growing district to one of Daegu's big two markets

During the Japanese colonial period, the Chilseong-dong area grew apples and vegetables. Daegu was famous for its apples then, and the market began as a place to sell the harvest, which is why the produce market is still seen as its root. Being close to the provincial governor's office and Daegu Station helped it draw people and goods.

In 1946 it became a permanent market under the name Bungmun Market. After liberation, returning overseas Koreans and then refugees from the Korean War crowded around Daegu Station, and the market grew fast as farmers from nearby Mutae, Geomdan and Dongchon brought in vegetables and fruit. In the 1970s, Chilseong Market, Daegu Fruit and Vegetable Market and Samsung Market split off into their own buildings. Business slumped in the 1990s as big retailers moved in, but traders formed a development committee in 1997, and a national programme to modernise traditional markets from 2006 shaped what you see today.

What to see

• Produce and apple market: where it all started. Wholesale buyers weave between stacked crates of fruit and vegetables.
• Chilseong Flower Market: potted plants, cut flowers and saplings, with displays that change with the seasons.
• Toy alley: retro stationery such as old joke books, cross-stitch kits and coloured paper, alongside today's squishy toys, all at wholesale prices. Most shops closed in the 2010s, but a few on the main road remain and now attract young shoppers and travellers who found them on social media.
• Furniture and kitchenware streets: long rows of restaurant-grade bowls, pots and household goods that are fun to browse.
• Food alleys: the market has its own pork and chicken alleys, and in the evening seafood tent bars (pojangmacha) light up along the street.

There are more than 300 shops and around 80 street stalls. The buildings and alleys of the different markets run into each other and the goods on offer shift often, so following the flow of people is easier than following a map.

Chilseong Night Market

The night market opened in November 2019 on the public car park on the Sincheon riverbank between Chilseong Bridge and Gyeongdae Bridge. It shut two months later because of COVID-19, but it has since become one of Daegu's best-known evening spots and was named, together with Seomun Night Market, among Korea's "100 night-time destinations". In 2026 it reopened on 27 March and runs Fridays to Sundays until November. The menu leans towards families, with steak, fried shrimp and chicken skewers, and there are buskers and dance shows from 19:00 to 21:00. In August a beer festival with live baseball screenings takes over.

Good to know

Chilseong Market was once counted among Korea's "three big dog-meat markets", together with Moran Market in Seongnam and Gupo Market in Busan. The other two closed first, and after Korea's law ending the dog-meat trade, the dog-meat alley in Chilseong also went through the process of closing or switching trades, one sign of how quickly the market is changing.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: take Daegu Metro Line 1 to Chilseong Market Station, exit 1 or 4, and you are at the market. It is also within walking distance of Daegu Station.
• Parking: the Sincheon riverbank car park next to the market has about 300 spaces.
• Night market hours: Friday and Saturday 19:00–23:30, Sunday 19:00–22:30 (2026). It closes for winter from December to February, so then only the daytime market is on.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for the daytime market. From Friday to Sunday, explore the market in the afternoon and move on to the night market around sunset.
• Worth knowing: each shop keeps its own hours and closing days, and some alleys have shut, so check ahead if there is a particular shop you want to visit.
• Combine with: Dongseong-ro, Gyeongsang Gamyeong Park, the Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market and Gyodong Market are all close, making for an easy walk through central Daegu.