Daegu National Museum

Daegu National Museum tells the story of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province from the Old Stone Age to the Joseon dynasty through objects found in the region. You can see Silla and Gaya metalwork, early Buddhist sculpture from northern Gyeongsang and the scholarly culture of the Yeongnam region in one place, and, unusually for a national museum, there is a dedicated Costume Culture Hall that reflects Daegu's textile heritage. The permanent galleries are free.

How the museum developed

The museum opened on 7 December 1994. In 2006 it added storage, the Haesol education centre and a special exhibition gallery, and in July 2010 the permanent galleries were rebuilt as the Ancient Culture, Medieval Culture and Costume Culture halls. The collection numbers about 30,000 objects. The Costume Culture Hall replaced the former folklore gallery, a nod to Daegu's growth into a modern city on the back of its textile and clothing industries.

The galleries

• Ancient Culture Hall: finds from prehistory to the Three Kingdoms, arranged by material: stone, clay, wood, bronze, iron, gold and jade. It starts with the hand axe from the Maae-ri site in Andong, the first found in North Gyeongsang, and comb-pattern pottery, and continues to metalwork and jewellery from Silla and Gaya, which you can compare side by side.
• Medieval Culture Hall (Buddhism): Silla was the last of the three kingdoms to adopt Buddhism, but the faith spread early in northern Gyeongsang, the gateway through which it entered Silla. Here are Three Kingdoms-era gilt-bronze Buddhas and pensive bodhisattvas from Yeongju, Bonghwa, Andong, Gunwi and elsewhere, along with reliquary sets and Buddhist crafts.
• Medieval Culture Hall (Confucianism): traces the shift of learning from temples to Confucian academies in the Yeongnam region and the Yeongnam school of scholars, and presents Joseon society through the Confucian ideals of cultivating oneself, managing one's family and governing the state.
• Costume Culture Hall: the history of hanbok, from jackets and skirts to gat hats, hair ornaments and the embroidered hwarot wedding robe, plus hanbok styles popular from the 1940s to the 1980s. A themed section on traditional textiles and patterns changes periodically.

Outdoors and for children

Around the building are a Bronze Age dolmen and house site, a Three Kingdoms pottery kiln and a stone pagoda, so the grounds make a pleasant short walk. The Children's Museum, reopened in December 2023, is a hands-on space about traditional clothing and requires separate booking; the Digital Art Zone is also booked in advance.

Tripto tips

• Hours: daily 09:00–18:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing (as of October 2026).
• Closed: Mondays, 1 January, and the days of Seollal and Chuseok. If Monday is a public holiday, it closes on the next weekday instead.
• Tickets: permanent and themed exhibitions are free; only paid special exhibitions need a ticket.
• Guided tours: Korean tours start daily at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00 in front of the first-floor information desk and last about 40 minutes. For English or Japanese tours, phone at least two weeks ahead.
• Time needed: 90 minutes to 2 hours for the three permanent halls and the outdoor exhibits.
• Getting there: from Exit 3 of Manchon Station on Daegu Metro Line 2, change to a city bus (Sunhwan 3, 234, 349, 449, 524, Suseong 1 and others). Parking is free during opening hours but there are only 184 spaces, so public transport is easier at weekends.
• Nearby: Suseong Lake, about ten minutes away by car, is a good place for an evening stroll.