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Daejeon · Area guide

Yuseong Hot Springs

유성온천

Daejeon's hot-spring quarter, known since the 7th century, with a free street foot spa.

Visitors soaking their feet at the Yuseong hot-spring foot spa, Daejeon
Visitors soaking their feet at the Yuseong hot-spring foot spa, Daejeon. Photo: 김광인 (Kim Gwang-in) · CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo credits

The short answer

Stay in Yuseong for the hot springs. VisitKorea calls Yuseongoncheon a venerable hot spring area known since the 7th century, with water at 27–56 °C rising from 200 m underground, and its Korean-language guide says that of Korea's 116 hot-spring districts, Yuseong has the oldest history and the largest reserves and use in the country. The easy way in is the foot spa: a free outdoor hot spring with natural thermal water, in VisitKorea's words, 200 m from exit 7 of Yuseong Spa Station on Daejeon Metro Line 1.

Yuseong is Daejeon's science district too. VisitKorea says the Yuseong Special Tourist Zone takes in the hot springs, the Daedeok Science Complex, Kumdori Land and Expo Science Park, established after the 1993 Daejeon Expo. On Daedeok-daero stand Hanbit Tower, 93 m high, and the National Science Museum, with its planetarium. Both close on Mondays, so plan your science day for Tuesday to Sunday.

Best for

  • Hot-spring water and the free foot spa
  • Science museums and a planetarium
  • Expo Science Park and Hanbit Tower
  • Ending the day with a foot soak
  • The gentle trail in Sutonggol Valley

Think twice if

  • The first KTX of the morning
  • Markets and old downtown streets
  • Science museums on a Monday

Getting here

Stations and lines
StationLines
Yuseong Spa StationDaejeon Metro Line 1; exit 7 for the foot spa, 200 m (VisitKorea, 2019)
Daejeon Metro Line 1Panam to Banseok, 20.5 km and 22 stations, every 5–10 min, 05:30–23:39, about 40 min end to end (VisitKorea, 2019)
Daejeon StationKTX on the Gyeongbu Line, about 1 h from Seoul and Yongsan (Daejeon City, 2022); on Line 1

From Seoul

Take the KTX from Seoul Station or Yongsan Station to Daejeon Station, about an hour by Daejeon City's 2022 directions page, then Daejeon Metro Line 1 to Yuseong Spa Station. VisitKorea's 2019 metro guide has Line 1 running every 5 to 10 minutes from 05:30 to 23:39. Take exit 7 for the foot spa.

From Incheon Airport

Daejeon City's 2022 directions page routes you by rail: AREX to Seoul Station, about 1 hour 10 minutes, then the train to Daejeon Station, about an hour. From there, ride Line 1 to Yuseong Spa Station; the foot spa is 200 m from exit 7, by VisitKorea's 2019 directions.

From Daejeon Station

The metro station is in front of the main station, VisitKorea says, and Daejeon City's 2022 page gives the first train from it at 05:36 and the last at 23:45. Ride Line 1 to Yuseong Spa Station and take exit 7, then head towards Chungnam National University and turn right at the Yuseong Oncheon crossroads.

From Busan

Daejeon City's 2022 page gives 1 hour 50 minutes by KTX from Busan to Daejeon Station. Change there to Daejeon Metro Line 1 for Yuseong Spa Station.

On your doorstep

  • Yuseongoncheon Hot Springs A hot spring area known since the 7th century, says VisitKorea, with water at 27–56 °C flowing from 200 m underground and a pH of 7.5–8.5, along Oncheon-ro in Yuseong-gu.
  • Yuseong Foot Spa A street foot spa in Yuseong Hot Spring Park, which VisitKorea's course calls a free outdoor hot spring with natural thermal water. VisitKorea's 2019 directions: exit 7 of Yuseong Spa Station, towards Chungnam National University, right at the Yuseong Oncheon crossroads, 200 m.
  • Expo Science Park Established after the Daejeon Expo closed in 1993, with Hanbit Tower and a water plaza with a musical fountain, at 480 Daedeok-daero. Closed on Mondays, 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok.
  • Hanbit Tower Ninety-three metres high, with a bird's-eye view of Expo Science Park and major areas of Daejeon, says VisitKorea. Open 09:30–17:40; closed on Mondays, 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok.
  • National Science Museum About 4,200 exhibits from 322 subjects in four fields, a dome observatory with a planetarium and outdoor aircraft models, at 481 Daedeok-daero. Open 09:30–17:50; closed on Mondays (the next day when Monday is a holiday), 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok.
  • Daejeon EXPO Plaza A leisure and culture space with an outdoor performance hall, Hanbat Arboretum, bike paths and a fountain, at 169 Dunsan-daero in Seo-gu, open 24 hours. VisitKorea notes that the Expo Bridge lights up at sunset.
  • Daejeon Expo Aquarium At 1 Expo-ro. VisitKorea's Korean-language guide calls it Korea's first exhibition space to combine living creatures with digital media.
  • Daejeon Citizen Observatory Opened on 3 May 2001 as the first astronomy science centre run by a local government, says VisitKorea, with telescope programmes and a planetarium, at 213-48 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu.
  • Daejeon Prehistory Museum Daejeon's prehistory from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age, with a restored excavation site, at 126 Noeundong-ro, Yuseong-gu, on Daejeon City's museum list.
  • Sutonggol Valley In Yuseong-gu, on a trail VisitKorea's 2024 guide calls gentle and flat: Course 1 is about 3.2 km and takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. The same guide puts the valley under 30 minutes by taxi from Daejeon Station.

One easy day from here

  1. Morning The National Science Museum from 09:30, closed on Mondays: the exhibition halls, the planetarium and the aircraft outside.
  2. Midday Expo Science Park's water plaza and musical fountain, then Hanbit Tower for the view over Daejeon; the tower is open until 17:40.
  3. Afternoon Daejeon EXPO Plaza and the Hanbat Arboretum, or the Expo Aquarium, and the Expo Bridge as it lights up at sunset.
  4. Evening Back to Yuseong Spa Station, exit 7, and 200 m on to the free foot spa for a soak in the thermal water.

Before you book

  • Plan the Expo side for Tuesday to Sunday. Hanbit Tower, Expo Science Park and the National Science Museum all close on Mondays, and on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok.
  • Book near Yuseong Spa Station for the foot spa: VisitKorea puts it 200 m from exit 7.
  • Treat the hot springs and the Expo sights as two halves of your stay: the foot spa is by Yuseong Spa Station, and the museums and Hanbit Tower are on Daedeok-daero.
  • Two spring festivals ran in 2026: the Daejeon Science Festival from 17 to 19 April at DCC Exhibition Hall 2, 87 Expo-ro, and the Yuseong Hot Springs Culture Festival from 8 to 10 May at Yurim Park in Bongmyeong-dong.
  • Catching the first KTX of the day? Sleep by Daejeon Station instead: Line 1 starts at 05:30 by VisitKorea's 2019 guide.

Questions visitors ask

Is the Yuseong foot spa free?

Yes. VisitKorea's course calls it a free outdoor hot spring with natural thermal water. It is a street foot spa in Yuseong Hot Spring Park, 200 m from exit 7 of Yuseong Spa Station: head towards Chungnam National University and turn right at the Yuseong Oncheon crossroads, by VisitKorea's 2019 directions.

How old are the Yuseong hot springs?

VisitKorea says Yuseongoncheon has been known since the 7th century. The water is 27–56 °C, rises from 200 m underground and has a pH of 7.5–8.5. VisitKorea's Korean-language guide adds that of Korea's 116 hot-spring districts, Yuseong has the oldest history and the largest reserves and use in the country.

Which metro station do I use for the Yuseong hot springs?

Yuseong Spa Station on Daejeon Metro Line 1, exit 7. Line 1 runs from Panam to Banseok, every 5 to 10 minutes from 05:30 to 23:39 by VisitKorea's 2019 guide, and it stops at Daejeon Station, where the KTX arrives.

When are the Expo science sights closed?

On Mondays, 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok: that goes for Expo Science Park, Hanbit Tower and the National Science Museum. When Monday is a holiday, the museum closes the next day instead. Hanbit Tower is open 09:30–17:40 and the museum 09:30–17:50.

A place before a plan.

Where to stay in DaejeonSave your address in Korean

Sources & review

Editorial review: · Korea Standard Time