A walk through Kim Gwang-seok Street (김광석 다시 그리기 길) in Daegu

I took the opportunity to do a little sightseeing when I was in Daegu to catch Musical PHANTOM.

Not knowing where to go, I did one of the recommended tour courses and ended up at the Kim Gwang-seok Street (or 김광석 다시 그리기 길). It turned out to be the highlight of my trip, apart from catching Park Hyo Shin’s performance.

A preview of the Kim Gwang-seok Street on a building façade in the city of Daegu, South Korea (2 April 2017).

Kim Gwang-seok Street is a street dedicated to the late Korean singer-songwriter Kim Gwang-seok. The street is lined with a 350-metre long mural wall depicting the life and music of the Daegu-born singer.

A sculpture marking the start of the Kim Gwang-seok Street in Daegu, South Korea (2 April 2017).

Since I had no idea who Kim Gwang-seok was, I had no expectation of what I would be seeing and even thought it might be boring. I ended up spending a longer time than I expected walking through the street.

Some of the wall murals speak to me. The guitar, which figures prominently in most of the murals and artwork, play a part. The poignancy of the artwork, though, is what draws me in.

This (above) is the first of many wall murals along the street. The bench that is in the shape of a guitar immediately drew my attention. I thought it was an interesting interpretation of the guitar.

The image above is so poignant – a guitar next to a lone chair on an empty stage and devoid of an audience.

The wall mural above alludes to one of Kim Gwang-seok’s songs, “혼자 남은 밤” (which translate to “A Lonely Night”) on his fourth album. The imagery of a guitar left standing against the wall on an empty street conveys a sense of melancholy.

Although the wall mural above has cheery colours, there is somehow still a sense of solitude and of missing someone.

I thought this (above) is a really powerful image depicting his ability to enthrall crowds with just a guitar and his singing.

Apart from the artworks that line one side of the street, there are many quaint cafes and shops lining the other side of the street. All in all, the Kim Gwang-seok Street is worth a visit if you are in Daegu.