본 논문은 대구·경북 지역 화교 경영 중국음식점의 탄생과 발전 과정을 검토한 것이다. 지역 첫 중국음식점은 대구에 화교가 정착한 초기인 1910년대에 탄생했으며, 1920년대 들어서는 대구부뿐 아니라 경상북도 군 지역으로까지 확산했다. 중국음식점 가운데 군방각은 당시 조선에서도 열 손가락 안에 드는 고급 중국음식점으로서 알려져 있었다. 중국음식점이 이렇게 지역에서 인기를 끌고 확산한 배경에는 저렴한 호떡에서 고급 요리까지 다양한 층위의 메뉴를 가지고 있었고, 조선인의 입맛에 잘 맞은 점이 작용했다. 1931년 화교배척사건과 중일전쟁 직후 지역 중국음식점은 귀국하는 화교의 증가로 문을 닫는 곳도 많았지만 점차 안정을 되찾으면서 회복하는 추세를 보였다. 한국전쟁 발발로 지역에 피난 온 한국인과 화교의 증가로 타지역과 달리 지역의 인구는 해방 이전보다 2.4배 증가하고, 섬유산업을 중심으로 한 산업경제가 발전해, 1950년대 후반 화교 중국음식점은 급증했다. 지역 중국음식점 수는 전국에서 서울에 이어 두 번째로 많았다. 하지만 1960년대 후반 한국정부의 각종 규제와 화교 인구 감소로 인한 일손 부족, 한국인 중국음식점의 증가와 경쟁 등으로 인해 지역 중국음식점 수는 급감했다. 하지만 화교 중국음식점 중화반점, 인화반점, 태산만두 등은 노포로서 화교 중국음식점의 명맥을 이어가고 있다.

This paper examined the birth and development process of Overseas Chinese restaurants in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. The first Chinese restaurant in the region was established in the 1910s, when Chinese immigrants first settled in Daegu, and in the 1920s, it spread not only to Daegu but also to the Gyeongsangbuk-do region. Chinese restaurants consisted of fine dining restaurants, relatively small restaurants, and very small hotteok restaurants. Gunbangkak Chinese restaurant was known as one of the top ten high-end Chinese restaurants in colonial Korea. The reason why Chinese restaurants became so popular and spread in the region was that they had a variety of menus, from cheap hotteok to high-end dishes, and that they suited the tastes of Koreans. Immediately after Riot Incident against Chinese in 1931 and the second Sino-Japanese War, many local Chinese restaurants closed due to the increase in Chinese returning home, but they gradually regained stability and showed a gradual recovery trend. During the second Sino-Japanese War, most of the executives of Overseas Chinese Merchants Association of Daegu were Chinese restaurant managers, and Chinese restaurants were completely at the center of the Overseas Chinese economy of Daegu. Due to the increase in the number of Koreans and Chinese who took refuge in the region after the outbreak of the Korean War, the population of the region increased by 2.4 times compared to other regions compared to before liberation, and the industrial economy centered on the textile industry developed, and the number of Chinese restaurants among Chinese restaurants increased rapidly in the late 1950s. The number of local Chinese restaurants was the second largest in the country after Seoul. However, in the late 1960s, the number of local Chinese restaurants plummeted due to various regulations by the Korean government, labor shortages due to the decline in the Chinese population, and the increase and competition of Korean Chinese restaurants. Gunbangkak chinese restaurant, which was a symbol of local Chinese restaurants, closed in 1968 due to competition from Girinwon Chinese restaurant. Girinwon Chinese restaurant eventually closed in 2019, and all local high-end Chinese restaurants disappeared. However, Chinese restaurants for overseas Chinese such as Junghwa Chinese restaurant, Inhwa Chinese restaurant, and Taesan Dumpling restaurant are long-established restaurants that are continuing the legacy of Chinese restaurants for overseas Chinese.