The ARC Cultural Center
The ARC Cultural Center (디아크문화관; map) perches on a teardrop bit of land at the bottom of Gangjeong Amusement Park. It overlooks the convergence of the Nakdong River and Geumho River (금호강; map), which flows along the northern border of downtown Daegu City (대구시; map).
Maybe the most striking bit of architecture along Korea’s four major rivers, The ARC’s name is an acronym that stands for Architecture of River Culture.
International architect Hani Rashid created the award-winning upturned oval design to depict a fish breaching the surface of the Nakdong, a bird diving into the river, and/or Korean pottery.
What’s inside? A four-story cultural center, open from 10 AM to 6 PM.
- Basement — an art floor with pure-white walls
- 1st Floor — lobby
- 2nd Floor — circular theater
- 3rd Floor — open-air observation deck.
Buzzing around The ARC, find green picnic lawns and swarms of careening scooters borrowed from dozens of nearby rental shops.
The Dalseong Wetlands (달성습지; map) rest just south of The ARC, where the Nakdong and Geumho’s waters run together. Near the end of October, when the silver grass sways, up to 5,000 black cranes migrating to Japan descend on this 595,080-square-meter marshland. Here they refuel amongst racoons, raptors, and more endangered fauna.
