Sister cities of Daegu

Daegu (Korean: [tɛɡu]), (대구, 大邱, literally 'large hill') formerly spelled Taegu, and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the nation with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the surrounding Gyeongsangbuk-do province, although it is not legally part of the province. The two areas combined are often referred to as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, with a total population of over 5 million.

Daegu is located in south-eastern Korea about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the seacoast, near the Geumho River and its mainstream, Nakdong River in Gyeongsang-do. The Daegu basin, where the city lies, is the central plain of the Yeongnam region.

In ancient times, there was a proto-country named Jinhan, to which the current Daegu area belonged. Later Daegu was part of the Silla Kingdom which unified the Korean Peninsula. During the Joseon Dynasty period, the city was the capital of Gyeongsang-do which was one of traditional eight provinces of the country. Daegu was an economic motor of Korea during the 1960s–1980s period. The humid subtropical climate of Daegu is ideal for producing high quality apples, thus the nickname, "Apple City". Daegu is also known as "Textile City". Textile used to be the pillar industry of the city. With the establishment of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone, Daegu is currently focusing on folstering fashion and high-tech industries.

Daegu is the host city of the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2003 Summer Universiade. It also hosted four matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.