The Geumho River flows through North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, and drains into the Nakdong River

Nakdong River

The Nakdong River is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan.-Geography:...

. It rises in the hilly area of western Pohang

Pohang

Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...

, flows west for 116 kilometers before its meeting with the Nakdong in western Daegu

Daegu

Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...

. It drains an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers. Notable tributaries include the Sincheon

Sincheon

Sincheon or Sinch'ŏn can refer to several things in South and North Korea:* Sincheon , a stream in northern Gyeonggi province* Sincheon , a stream in Daegu* Sincheon , a neighborhood in Songpa-gu, Seoul...

, which flows north through Daegu. The name Geumho-gang means "river of the zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

-shaped lake," a reference to its oxbow

Oxbow lake

An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...

 curve in northern Daegu. Much of the river shore in Daegu has been transformed into parkland.

Ecological conditions

The Geumho has been among the most polluted rivers in South Korea largely because of industrial waste from nearby large-scale dyeing operations. This is especially important because the Geumho is a tributary of the Nakdong river. Samples of water have consistently received low grades on the water grading system of the Korean government. Communities allege that the water quality problem stemmed from the development of the Wicheon complex. The regional environment office of Daegu reported a new ecological plan to improve water quality around the rivers in 2008, including improvement of water circulation and the rivers' ecosystems.