V’s Elementary School Wall Holds a Starry Night: A BTS Mural Walk and Seomun Night Market in Daegu

A 60-meter mural of Van Gogh’s Starry Night runs along the wall of BTS member V’s elementary school in Daegu, and Seomun Market, where night stalls open every weekend, is a short walk away. Walk the V and Suga murals, then eat hotteok and flat dumplings at the market: that is the ARMY day in Daegu.

At a glance

• Getting there: KTX from Seoul or Yongsan Station to Dongdaegu Station takes about 1 hour 50 minutes, and from Busan Station a high-speed train takes under 50 minutes (Hankyoreh). From Dongdaegu, Daegu Metro Line 1 reaches Banwoldang, the center of town, in about 10 minutes. Full routes from Incheon Airport and Daegu Airport are at the end of this guide.
• The city’s own K-Road route: Daegu’s official day tour, DAEGU K-Road, runs V’s mural street (Daeseong Elementary) → Seomun Market → Suga’s mural street (Mulbegi-geori) → Gyesan Cathedral, the Daegu Herbal Medicine Museum and Dongseong-ro (Daekyung Ilbo, June 18, 2026). The top 10 below follows the same order.
• Best days: Friday to Sunday, when Seomun Night Market is open. It runs through December 2026 (see No. 2).
• Budget (per person, without a hotel): about $30 if you keep it cheap (market hotteok and dumplings, flat dumplings, makchang), $70–90 if you don’t (spicy braised short ribs, the Apsan cable car, 83 Tower).
• Metro Line 3: the line linking Seomun Market, Myeongdeok and Suseong Lake stations is an elevated monorail. A window seat is a free city viewpoint.

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Top 10 things to do in Daegu

1. V’s mural at Daeseong Elementary School (K-pop moment)

A 60-meter mural runs along the wall of Daeseong Elementary School in Seo-gu, the school V graduated from. Baidu’s V fan club in China paid for it for his birthday in 2021 and made it with the school and the district office. The background is Van Gogh’s Starry Night, a painting V is known to love, and “Borahae,” the fandom’s word for “I purple you,” is written across it in many languages (Hankyoreh). Tiles show his solo songs, self-written tracks and stage moments (Naver blog, 2026).

• Tip: it is a school wall. Around drop-off and pickup (8–9 a.m., 1–3 p.m.) take your photo quickly and keep the sidewalk clear. There is no parking, so use the Seomun Market lots or walk from Seomun Market Station.
• Next door: Dalseong Park is right beside the school.

• Sources: Hankyoreh, June 19, 2026, Seo-gu District official blog, parking notes for the V mural street

2. Seomun Market: hotteok by day, night market after dark (taste)

Daegu’s biggest traditional market. Exit 2 of Seomun Market Station on Line 3 drops you at the entrance. The market runs Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed the first and third Sunday of each month, and when the sun goes down the same street turns into a night market.

• What to order: glutinous-rice seed hotteok for ₩1,500 (about $1.10, the longest line in the market), five leaf-shaped handmade dumplings at Jang Yeosa Son Mandu for ₩7,000 (about $5.30) and spicy fish cake for ₩5,000 (about $3.80), and noodles at Daemyeong Kaljebi (Naver blog visit, Oct. 26, 2026).
• Night market: in 2026, Friday and Saturday 7–11:30 p.m., Sunday 7–10:30 p.m., through December (same visit). Check the official notice before you go.
• Tip: weekend parking in the District 2 building is ₩1,000 per 30 minutes but fills up. V’s mural is walkable from the market, so pair it with No. 1.

• Source: Seomun Market visit, Oct. 26, 2026

3. Hunting for the Suga murals on Mulbegi-geori (K-pop moment)

Suga was born in Daegu’s Buk-gu and had his music studio in Namsan-dong, Nam-gu. Around Mulbegi-geori near Myeongdeok Station, about ten Suga murals painted by volunteer fans are scattered through the alleys (Hankyoreh). His track “Intro: Never Mind” sings of beats laid “from a basement studio in Namsan-dong to Apgujeong, the source of my youth.”

• Tip: the murals are not in one place, so it is a walk of spot-the-picture through the alleys (Naver blog). Mulbegi-geori became a designated alley shopping street in 2026, and cafés and small restaurants keep opening.
• Eat nearby: Miseongdang Napjak Mandu’s main shop (93 Myeongdeok-ro, Jung-gu). Napjak mandu are flat, pan-fried dumplings topped with chili flakes, soy sauce and scallions, a Daegu specialty. ₩6,000 (about $4.50) a plate, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Naver blog).

• Sources: Hankyoreh, June 19, 2026, a Suga mural walk, Miseongdang review

4. Gyesan Cathedral, the wedding in When Life Gives You Tangerines (K-drama moment)

A red-brick cathedral built in 1902. The interior of the wedding scene in the Netflix drama When Life Gives You Tangerines was filmed here, and the exterior at Gasil Cathedral in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang (Naver blog citing Korea Tourism Organization material). Daegu put it on the K-Road route as a filming location (Daekyung Ilbo).

• Tip: about five minutes on foot from Banwoldang Station on Line 2, at 10 Seoseong-ro, Jung-gu. Don’t photograph inside during Mass. Poet Lee Sang-hwa’s old house across the street fits into the same stop.
• Watch the drama: When Life Gives You Tangerines is on Netflix — Netflix title page (available in the U.S. and Korea, checked Oct. 27, 2026).

• Sources: Daekyung Ilbo, June 18, 2026, Gyesan Cathedral filming notes

5. Cheongna Hill and the 90 steps (photo spot)

The hill across the road from Gyesan Cathedral. Ivy-covered houses built for early missionaries still stand here, which makes it the most un-Korean-looking photo in Daegu, and the 90 steps of the “March 1st Movement Road” leading down from it start the city’s modern-alley walking tour.

• Tip: right outside Cheongna Eondeok Station on Lines 2 and 3. Morning light hits the front of the missionary houses.

6. Kim Kwang-seok Road (see)

Singer Kim Kwang-seok, who died in 1996, lived beside Bangcheon Market in Daebong-dong, and the alley there now carries 350 meters of his murals and sculptures. His songs play along the street, small shops and cafés fill the lane, and the lights come on at night (Naver blog). Read it alongside Seol Notes’ Kim Kwang-seok series and the songs on the walls start to make sense one by one.

• Tip: 2238 Dalgubeol-daero, Jung-gu. The public lot (34-20 Dongdeok-ro 8-gil) is open 8 a.m. to midnight but small.

• Source: Kim Kwang-seok Road visit

7. The Dongin-dong jjimgalbi alley (taste)

An alley of spicy braised short ribs, one of the city’s “ten Daegu tastes.” The ribs come in a dented metal bowl buried in minced garlic and chili flakes. The bus stop is literally named “Jjimgalbi Alley.”

• What to order: at Bongsan Jjimgalbi (9-18 Dongdeok-ro 36-gil, Jung-gu), Australian beef jjimgalbi ₩23,000 (about $17.40), Korean hanwoo ₩32,000 (about $24.20), rice ₩1,000 extra. Daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., no break time (Naver blog).
• Tip: it is properly spicy. Most people mix rice into the leftover sauce. About 600 m from Exit 3 of Chilseong Market Station on Line 3.

• Source: Bongsan Jjimgalbi review

8. Makchang in the Anjirang gopchang alley (taste)

This alley is why Daegu people say makchang belongs to Daegu. Near Anjirang Station on Line 1, coal-fired grill shops line the lane, and by evening the whole alley is under a cloud of smoke.

• What to order: fresh pork makchang ₩8,000 (about $6) a serving, 200 g of spicy gopchang ₩12,000 (about $9.10), and doenjang stew to finish for ₩3,000 (Naver blog visits in 2026; prices vary by shop).
• Tip: Donbaksa Gopchang Makchang opens 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays and noon to 1 a.m. on weekends. It is in the same district as the Apsan cable car (No. 9), so they make one evening.

• Source: Anjirang makchang review

9. The Apsan cable car and the observatory at night (photo spot)

A 48-seat cable car takes five minutes up Apsan, the mountain on the city’s south edge, and all of Daegu spreads out underneath. The observatory’s moon-rabbit sculpture has made it the city’s sunset and night-view photo spot.

• Fares: adult round trip ₩14,000 (about $10.60), one way ₩10,000 (about $7.50). Discount tickets are sold only at the second-floor ticket office and only for round trips, 20% off (Naver blog, 2026).
• Hours: first car 10:30 a.m. The last car changes by month and runs later Friday to Sunday, so check before you go. Sunset in Daegu at the end of October is around 5:40 p.m.
• Tip: the observatory near the upper station is free.

• Sources: Apsan cable car info, Oct. 23, 2026, Apsan night-view visit

10. The 83 Tower observatory (see)

A tower on the hill of Duryu Park, joined to the E-World amusement park, so you can spend the day on rides and the night up the tower.

• Fares: 83 Tower observatory ₩10,000 (about $7.50) for adults, ₩8,000 (about $6) for children, separate from the E-World day pass (Naver blog, September 2026).
• Tip: Apsan (No. 9) and 83 Tower are night-view spots that look at each other, so you don’t need both in one day. Rides, go to 83 Tower. The whole city, go to Apsan.

• Source: E-World 83 Tower prices

Nearby

• Dongseong-ro: Daegu’s biggest shopping street, between Banwoldang and Jungangno stations. The K-Road tour ends here with free time.

• Daegu Yangnyeongsi Museum of Oriental Medicine: next to Dongseong-ro, a museum in the herbal-medicine market lane that has traded since the Joseon era. It is on the K-Road route.

• Suseong Lake: Suseongmot Station on Line 3. A lakeside promenade, cafés and good sunsets.

• Palgongsan: the fall-foliage mountain north of the city. The color has peaked in mid-November in many years, so a November trip can catch it.

Hotels nearby

Prices are one-night rates shown by booking sites (searched Oct. 27, 2026), with the dates the rate applied to in parentheses. They change a lot by date and season, so check again before you book.

Hotel	Location	Approx. one night	Why
Daegu Marriott Hotel	About 500 m from Dongdaegu Station	$176 (Travelocity, Nov. 9–10)	Step off the KTX and you’re there. The K-Road tour’s partner hotel for overseas fans
Hotel Inter-Burgo EXCO	About 3 km from Dongdaegu Station	$85 (Travelocity, Nov. 23–24)	Outdoor pool (seasonal), free parking
Toyoko Inn Daegu Dongseong-ro	Dongseong-ro	$50–60 with breakfast (Expedia, Travelocity)	Budget pick in the middle of town
Libertine Hotel	Seongnae-dong, downtown	$49 (Expedia)	Among the cheapest
Giant Hotel	Seongnae-dong, downtown	$56 (Expedia)	Between Dongseong-ro and Seomun Market

• Sources: Travelocity — Dongdaegu Station hotels, Expedia — Seongnae-dong, Daekyung Ilbo, June 18, 2026 (K-Road partner hotel)

A one-day route

• Morning: Dongdaegu Station → Line 1 to Banwoldang → Cheongna Hill (No. 5) → Gyesan Cathedral (No. 4)
• Lunch: Line 3 to Seomun Market Station → hotteok and dumplings at Seomun Market (No. 2) → walk to V’s mural (No. 1)
• Afternoon: Line 3 to Myeongdeok → the Suga murals (No. 3) → Miseongdang flat dumplings → Kim Kwang-seok Road (No. 6)
• Evening: makchang in Anjirang (No. 8) → the Apsan cable car at night (No. 9). On Friday to Sunday, swap the makchang for Seomun Night Market.

Getting there by public transit

• From Incheon Airport: take AREX to Seoul Station (about 1 hour on the all-stop train, about 45 minutes on the express), then the KTX to Dongdaegu (about 1 hour 50 minutes, ₩43,500 or about $33 one way in standard class). Allow about 3 hours 30 minutes in total. Book the KTX on the Korail website or app.
• From Daegu International Airport: the airport is in the city, about 15 minutes by taxi from Dongdaegu Station. Ayanggyo Station on Line 1 is a short taxi ride away if you’d rather ride the metro downtown.
• From Busan (Gimhae Airport or a BTS concert): a high-speed train from Busan Station to Dongdaegu takes under 50 minutes (Hankyoreh).
• Inside Daegu: Lines 1 and 2 cross at Banwoldang, and Lines 2 and 3 at Cheongna Eondeok. A T-money card works on the metro and buses.

From the Apsan observatory at 9 p.m., the Line 3 monorail slides between the city lights, and somewhere down there are V’s starry night and the alley of Suga’s basement studio. The concerts may happen in other cities, but the city where ARMY stays the night is Daegu.

Sources

• Hankyoreh, June 19, 2026: overseas BTS fans visit Daegu, Daekyung Ilbo, June 18, 2026: DAEGU K-Road, Maeil Shinmun, Oct. 25, 2026: reasons to travel to Daegu
• Naver blog visits (prices and hours): linked under each item, mostly 2026 posts
• Hotel rates: sources under the table, searched Oct. 27, 2026
• Photos: Korea Tourism Organization Photo Korea (Korea Tourism Content Lab), KOGL Type 1, photographer credited on each photo
• Exchange rate: $1 = ₩1,324.6 (Seoul foreign exchange market base rate, Oct. 23, 2026)