Hidden Story of Region
Getting a Glimpse of the Local Culture
Daejeon, the City of Bread and Science
Elderly Daejeon citizens say that the city has changed a lot over the years. Up until the 1980s, Daejeon had been known primarily for its hot springs. Today, however, Daejeon has earned a new title as the city of bread and science. As the city of the mouthwatering smell of freshly baked bread and home to Korea’s leading scientists, Daejeon has many stories to tell.
Text by Young-eun Kim
Source KLab (KBS New Media Channel)
From a Hot Spring That is a Tourists’ Attraction to a City of Hi-Tech & Science!
There are different words that describe Daejeon: No. 1 city in the Chungcheong region, a major transportation hub that links the central and southern regions of the country, and the science and research mecca in Korea and one of the world’s leading science and research cities. Of all these words, the keywords science and research have put Daejeon in a completely new light. Until the 1980s, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon had been the best-known hot spring venue and one of the country’s most popular honeymoon destinations. In the early 1970s, Daejeon was selected as the new site where the research complex in Hongneung, Seoul was to be relocated because Hongneung was no longer able to accommodate the growing research facilities. According to the 2nd University Town Creation Plan, Korea’s leading research complex was moved to Daejeon, giving the city a new identity as a major science and research hub. The key reasons why Daejeon was chosen as a new science and research hub are easy access to public transportation including Honam Expressway that goes through the complex and Daejeon’s geographical location of being at the very center of the entire country. In 1993, Daejeon hosted the world expo, raising its global profile and further reinforcing its status as a city of science and research. Major government and corporate research institutes and educational institutes are concentrated in Daedeok Science Town, which is also known as Daedeok Innopolis. Key institutes include the Agency for Defense Development, Institute for Basic Science, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, and Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation. K-water is also headquartered in Daedeok, and there are other public and private corporations as well.
Destined to become a city of bread
In all surveys conducted by the city of Daejeon on recommended tourists’ attractions, local food, and favorite souvenirs, Daejeon has been associated the most with a local bakery. How has the local bakery become so popular and famous across the country? The most convincing theory is that the success of the bakery is attributed to Daejeon’s geographical location and historical background. In the 1960s and 1970s, wheat flour emerged as a major alternative to rice—Koreans’ staple food—and Daejeon served as a major flour distribution center in the country. Since the city is located at the center of the country, tons of wheat flour were shipped to Korea as international aid following the end of the Korean War, and the flour was initially kept in Daejeon before they were sent elsewhere across the country. Thus, flour was more easily accessible and available in Daejeon, and people started to make flour-based food such as bread and noodles. There are far more small bakeries run by individuals as opposed to those operated by large corporations. These small bakeries offer a much broader array of bread options based on unique recipes developed by each. With such high concentration of bakeries in the city, competition among them remains high, as a result of which the quality and taste of bread are also better than those in other cities. Capitalizing on this unique strength, Daejeon holds bread festivals and offers fun and interesting tourists’ events featuring bread. Local bakeries have become a key component of Daejeon’s local culture and a unique local specialty product. For this reason, “bread” is now widely known as one of the keywords describing Daejeon.
