Daeguseon Water Replaced by ‘Cheongrasu’ … Daegu City Selects New Tap Water Brand

Daegu Waterworks Headquarters selected the new name for Daegu tap water as "Cheongrasu" through a public contest.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Daegu Waterworks Headquarters selected the new name for Daegu tap water as ‘Cheongrasu’ through a public contest in September.

Cheongrasu was chosen as the top name after competing against 624 entries from citizens, undergoing expert evaluation and a final citizen preference survey.

The previous name, ‘Dalgubeol Clear Water,’ used since 2007, was criticized for being long and relatively difficult to pronounce and remember, receiving low satisfaction of 9% and recognition of 27.3% in citizen awareness surveys.

The headquarters stated that ‘Cheongrasu’ is concise and has a clear and transparent sound, making it familiar to local residents and receiving the highest score in the citizen preference survey.

During the two-day on-site voting held at the Dongseong-ro Festival in October, it also gained overwhelming support from the younger generation.

Inspired by Cheongra Hill, ‘Cheongrasu’ combines Cheongra (靑蘿), meaning blue ivy, and water (水).

‘Cheong (靑)’ conveys a fresh image, meaning clear and clean, while ‘Ra (蘿)’ implies the strong vitality of ivy spreading over walls, symbolizing Daegu’s vigorous rebirth as the world’s best water management city beyond Korea.

Cheongra Hill originated in the early 20th century during the enlightenment period when missionaries lived there and planted many ivy vines. It preserves modern Korean culture, including missionary houses and the March 1st Independence Movement Road.

At that time, the construction of Daegu’s first water facilities, Gachang Water Purification Plant and Daebong Reservoir, was also promoted, adding historical significance in preserving Daegu’s modern culture.

At the awards ceremony on the 24th, Deputy Mayor Chae Hong-ho presented the mayor’s awards and prize money to five entries including Cheongrasu.

Cheongrasu, selected as the grand prize winner, received 1 million won, while the excellence awards, Dandisu and Biseulsu, each received 500,000 won, and the encouragement awards, Dodal水 and D-water, each received 200,000 won.

Next month, the headquarters plans to create a logo fitting the new name to be used for bottled tap water without vinyl labels and various promotional projects.

They will also develop content linking the symbolism of Cheongra Hill and the image of Cheongrasu to promote the value of Daegu tap water.

Recently, Daegu was selected as a pilot city for UNESCO’s excellent urban water management certification and will be evaluated for tap water operation management and water quality stability for one year starting next year.

Head of Headquarters Kim Jeong-seop said, “It is very meaningful to select ‘Cheongrasu’ as the new name for Daegu tap water at a time when we were chosen as a pilot city for excellent water management certification and started the construction of the new Gachang Reservoir.”

Deputy Mayor Chae Hong-ho said, “We plan to promote the new name ‘Cheongrasu’ widely so that it is quickly remembered,” adding, “We will make it a representative brand of Daegu, so please love it a lot.”