I have lived in Daegu for 20 years, but I have no memory of actually taking a walk. I have memories of walking with friends, a lover, or wandering alone, but back then, I didn't consider walking to be a "walk." Was it because I was too young? Even when I was a teenager, saying that my hobby was "walking" would have earned me ridicule. Even in my mid-20s, while attending university, I was teased for "acting superior" or "pretentious" when I mentioned taking walks in my spare time. Now, no one thinks that way anymore. Everyone finds their own walking path, creates one if one doesn't exist, and there are even those who travel abroad just to go for a walk.

It has been 20 years since I left Daegu, and in some ways, it feels like a foreign travel destination to me . This is especially true when I think about taking a walk in Daegu. A walk? Where should I walk? Should I walk through Bokhyun-dong, where I lived during my childhood? Or Suseong Lake, where I spent my teenage years? Around that time, the amusement park Suseong Land opened. I often rode the small, creaky Viking ride, and each time, I imagined the ride's hook snapping and plunging into Suseong Lake. However, I never thought about taking a walk, nor did I attempt it. The area around Suseong Lake was lined with street food stalls, and everyone was drinking all night long (I don't know if that is still the case).

Anyway, for one reason or another, I decided to imagine a walk through Daegu purely from the perspective of visiting an unfamiliar city. Just as if it were a travel destination despite being my hometown, what if I viewed this place through the eyes of the present rather than the eyes of the past? If I did so, wouldn't the order of the past and the present be reversed? Memories of the past might be rediscovered within the present, and the city might be reconstructed in ways never imagined before. Into Daegu, the city of walks.

When visiting an unfamiliar city, the first place I look for is an art museum . It is not because I like art, but because I like the environment surrounding the museum. Near a well-designed museum, there are wonderful cafes and walking paths. There are various reasons for this. In the case of public art museums, the city may have systematically created parks and established commercial districts, or auxiliary spaces may have emerged due to the preferences of the artists or visitors. In any case, that is why I looked up what art museums exist in Daegu. What I realized anew was the fact that I had never once been to an art museum in Daegu. I didn't even know that there were any!

There were two candidate locations: the Daegu Museum of Art in Suseong-gu, which opened in 2011, and Space Doklip, an alternative art space in Samdeok-dong that opened in 2018. After much deliberation, I decided to walk around Space Doklip and its surroundings. The area around the Daegu Museum of Art is, well, just a vast, empty field. Although there are parks and mountains, they are not easily accessible and are too large in scale for a leisurely stroll. On the other hand, Samdeok-dong, where Space Doklip is located, is Daegu's old downtown, with old modern buildings intermingled with shops featuring a young and fresh vibe in every alleyway. The blocks are small enough that one or two hours is sufficient to explore the entire area. It is the perfect course for an urban walk.

Alternative Art Space Space Independence

An alternative art and exhibition space located in Samdeok 2-ga, housed in the style of a Japanese-style house. It is the former residence of Shin Jae-mo, an independence activist who organized the Daegu Labor Friendship Association.

14-7, Gongpyeong-ro 8-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu

@spacedokrip

Space Independence is an alternative gallery housed in a renovated old house in Samdeok-dong, Daegu. It is said to have originally been the home of Shin Jae-mo, an independence activist who organized the Daegu Labor Friendship Association. Since around 2010, it has been operating as a venue that supports art activities and hosts exhibitions at places such as 'Sunday Paper' and 'Art Club Samdeok'.

On the day I visited, preparations for an exhibition were underway. Peeking through the old gate, I saw people who appeared to be a curator and an artist busy at work. I left the alley, crossed the main road where the Bank of Korea and the Kyungpook National University College of Medicine are located, and walked slowly toward Sincheon. I wandered through every nook and cranny of the alley, looking at the various types of houses and shops. Perhaps because it is an old downtown area with many modern Japanese-style houses, I often saw signs written in Japanese. It felt just like being in a modest alley in Tokyo. A Hanok with a neatly manicured garden was operating as a restaurant and pub. As I was taking photos, a young man who seemed to be the owner came out. “It’s not open yet. Would you like to make a reservation?” I shook my head at his words. “I’ll come back another time.”

Jeong Ji-don

Novelist Jeong Ji-don was born in Daegu in 1983. He left Daegu about 20 years ago and currently writes novels and essays based in Seoul. He began publishing novels after winning the *Literature and Society* New Writer's Award in 2013. His short story collections include *As I Fight*, *We Will Live in Others' Memories*, and *People Who Hate Jokes*; his novellas include *The Night Watchman's Diary*; his full-length novels include *Little Coward, Coward, New Party*, *Everything Was Eternal*, and *...Scroll!*; and his essay collections include *The Joy of Literature* (co-authored), *Film and Poetry*, and *For You, But Not Yours*. If there was the novelist Mr. Kubo who walked and contemplated cities in the 20th century, Jeong Ji-don is the "urban flâneur of the 21st century," often walking and strolling through cities around the world, touching upon something latent within the word "city."