If you have ever searched where K-dramas get filmed in Seoul, how to visit a K-drama filming location, or whether the places you recognise on screen are actually open to visitors, the answer is usually yes.
Many K-dramas are filmed in real, public places across Seoul: palaces, parks, bridges, neighbourhood streets, cafés, shopping areas and spaces beside the Han River. Some are famous attractions already. Others are completely ordinary places that became meaningful only because of a particular scene.
That is also where the problem starts.
K-dramas have become one of the biggest reasons people arrive in Seoul already recognising places they have never visited. A staircase feels familiar. A palace courtyard looks exactly as expected. You walk beside the Han River and realise you have watched fictional couples argue, reconcile and dramatically stare into the distance there dozens of times.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to see those places.
K-drama tourism is now sufficiently important that Seoul actively promotes filming-location travel, and the city has developed its own “Soul Spot” programme around locations connected with Korean dramas, films and other K-content.
But most guides answer only one question:
Where was this K-drama filmed?
We think travellers need another one:
Is the location actually worth visiting once you remove the drama connection?
Some K-drama filming locations belong on a Seoul itinerary even if you have never watched a single episode of Korean television. Others are worth seeing if you are already nearby.
And a few, in our opinion, are places you should only spend time and money on if recreating the drama scene genuinely matters to you.
Over the years, we have repeatedly stumbled across K-drama filming locations without planning to. We have recognised streets, staircases and viewpoints simply because we had seen them on screen before, and sometimes only realised later that a place we already liked had been used in a drama. That is why we think filming locations are best treated as part of Seoul, not as a separate checklist layered on top of it.
Some absolutely are. Some are worth visiting if you are nearby. Some only make sense because you love the drama. And some we would happily skip.
K-drama filming locations in Seoul at a glance
| Location | Seen in | Nearest subway / exit | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bukchon Hanok Village | Personal Taste, Heartstrings, Our Beloved Summer, Love Next Door and others | Anguk (Line 3), Exit 3 | Go, respectfully |
| Ikseon-dong | True Beauty, See You in My 19th Life, Love Scout, Our Unwritten Seoul | Jongno 3-ga (Lines 1, 3, 5) | Go |
| Jongno / Anguk stone-wall streets | Love Next Door, Business Proposal, See You in My 19th Life, Lovely Runner and others | Anguk (Line 3) / Jongno 3-ga (Lines 1, 3, 5) | One of the best areas |
| Gyeongbokgung Palace | Love in the Moonlight and numerous historical productions | Gyeongbokgung (Line 3) | Absolutely go |
| Gwanghwamun Square | The King: Eternal Monarch, City Hunter, Love Scout and others | Gwanghwamun (Line 5) | Absolutely go |
| N Seoul Tower | Business Proposal, King the Land, Love Next Door, True Beauty, Boys Over Flowers and many more | Myeongdong (Line 4) for the cable-car approach | Go |
| Namsan | Numerous dramas filmed around the mountain and Seoul City Wall | Chungmuro / Dongguk Univ. for Namsan access | Worth more time than the tower alone |
| Itaewon / Haebangchon | Itaewon Class | Itaewon / Noksapyeong (Line 6) | Go and explore the neighbourhood |
| Noksapyeong Overpass | Itaewon Class | Noksapyeong (Line 6) | One of the best Itaewon Class stops |
| DanBam / Seoul Bam area | Itaewon Class | Noksapyeong / Itaewon (Line 6) | Worth seeing as part of the route |
| G Guesthouse | Itaewon Class | Itaewon (Line 6) | Mostly for fans following the route |
| Angel Wings stairs | Itaewon Class | Noksapyeong (Line 6) | Easy addition while exploring Itaewon |
| Itaewon Children’s Park | Itaewon Class | Itaewon (Line 6) | Fan-weighted, but easy to combine |
| Baekbeom Square | Itaewon Class, Love Alarm | Hoehyeon (Line 4) | Strong recommendation |
| Naksan Park | Itaewon Class, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, Call It Love, My Sweet Mobster | Hyehwa (Line 4) | One of the best locations |
| Ihwa Mural Village | Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, Love Next Door, Our Unwritten Seoul | Hyehwa (Line 4) | Go with Naksan |
| Sinchon stairs | Lovely Runner, Undercover High School | Sinchon (Line 2) | Worth visiting |
| Sinchon tunnel beside the stairs | Family by Choice, Undercover High School | Sinchon (Line 2) | Combine with the stairs |
| Sinchon Graffiti Tunnel | Twinkling Watermelon, Goblin | Sinchon (Line 2) | Worth adding to a Sinchon walk |
| Sinchon 7-Eleven | Doctor Slump, Undercover High School | Sinchon (Line 2) | Look if you’re there; don’t make a special trip |
| Seongbukcheon Stream | Lovely Runner, Pro Bono | Sungshin Women’s University (Line 4), around 5 minutes on foot | Especially worthwhile for Lovely Runner fans |
| Dongdaemun Design Plaza | Vincenzo, Lovely Runner, Love Alarm | Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (Lines 2, 4, 5) | Worth it |
| Cheonggyecheon Stream | See You in My 19th Life, Marry My Husband, Love Scout and others | Jonggak / Jongno 3-ga, depending on section | Easy yes |
| Tapgol Park | Squid Game Season 2 | Jongno 3-ga (Lines 1, 3, 5) | Go for the history as much as the drama |
| Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway | Doctor Slump, Extraordinary Attorney Woo and others | City Hall (Lines 1, 2) | Worth it if nearby |
| Yeouido Hangang Park | Start-Up, Legend of the Blue Sea and others | Yeouinaru (Line 5) | Absolutely go |
| Banpo Hangang Park / Bridge | Itaewon Class, Our Unwritten Seoul and others | Express Bus Terminal (Lines 3, 7, 9) | Go if it fits your day |
| Yonsei University | True Beauty, Extraordinary You, Reply 1994, A Time Called You, Hello, My Twenties!, Snowdrop, Undercover High School and more | Sinchon (Line 2) | Worth a look |
| Gyeongui Line Forest Park | Because This Is My First Life, I Am Not a Robot, Romance Is a Bonus Book | Hongik University for the Yeonnam section | Worth it as part of the area |
| Seoul Forest | It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Love Alarm, My Demon, Lovely Runner, Squid Game and others | Seoul Forest (Suin-Bundang Line), Exit 3 | Go, especially with Seongsu |
| Namdaemun / Sungnyemun | Love Scout | Hoehyeon (Line 4) | Worth seeing anyway |
| Lotte World | Business Proposal, True Beauty, Love Alarm and many others | Jamsil (Lines 2, 8) | Skip unless you genuinely want Lotte World |
| COEX Aquarium | I Can Hear Your Voice, DNA Lover, Queen of Tears and others | Samseong (Line 2) / Bongeunsa (Line 9) | Skip if you have no other reason to go |
| Starfield Library | Record of Youth and other productions | Samseong (Line 2) / Bongeunsa (Line 9) | See if already at COEX |
| Common Ground | Vincenzo, Our Unwritten Seoul | Konkuk University (Lines 2, 7) | Only if nearby or interested |
| Oil Tank Culture Park | Start-Up | World Cup Stadium (Line 6) | Interesting, but not essential |
| Nodeul Island | Start-Up | Nodeul (Line 9), Exit 2, then around 700–800 m on foot | Underrated |
| Munhwa Pedestrian Bridge / Yeouido Saetgang | Doctor Slump | Saetgang (Line 9 / Sillim Line) | Nice, but fan-weighted |
| Boramae Park | Strong Woman Do Bong-soon | Boramae Park / Boramae | Only if convenient |
K-drama locations that are worth visiting
For each location, we have also included the nearest useful subway station. Seoul is enormous, so always check the actual route in Naver Map before crossing the city for a filming location.
Bukchon Hanok Village
Seen in: Personal Taste, Heartstrings, Our Beloved Summer, Love Next Door and others.
Bukchon has been used in Korean television for years because visually it gives directors exactly what they want: hanok roofs, narrow lanes, stone walls and modern Seoul appearing behind them. Personal Taste remains one of the older dramas most strongly associated with Bukchon, while Love Next Door brought viewers back to the neighbourhood much more recently.
We would visit whether a drama had been filmed here or not. But this is also one of the locations where K-drama tourism can become intrusive. Bukchon is residential. Go during permitted visitor hours, keep noise down and do not spend twenty minutes blocking somebody’s entrance while trying to reproduce a scene.
Area / nearest station: Bukchon · Anguk Station (Line 3), Exit 3.
Our verdict: go for Bukchon. Recognising the K-drama locations should be the bonus.
Ikseon-dong
Seen in: True Beauty, See You in My 19th Life, Love Scout, Our Unwritten Seoul.
Ikseon-dong is a particularly good example of how locations keep being reused by new generations of dramas. True Beauty filmed here years ago; Love Scout and Our Unwritten Seoul have returned much more recently.
The area itself is commercial and very popular now, so do not arrive expecting a secret traditional neighbourhood. But the combination of hanok architecture, tiny alleys, shops, restaurants and cafés makes it worth exploring.
Area / nearest station: Jongno · Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1, 3, 5), Exit 4.
Our verdict: go but because Ikseon-dong is interesting, not because you need to find one exact scene.
Jongno, Anguk and the stone-wall streets
Seen in: Love Next Door, Business Proposal, See You in My 19th Life, Lovely Runner and many others.
This is probably our favourite area for encountering K-drama locations naturally. Stone walls, hanok buildings, narrow lanes, cafés and older streets sit incredibly close to contemporary Seoul, which is exactly why directors return to this part of the city again and again.
It is also where our own experience of K-drama locations has often happened accidentally. We have walked down streets, recognised something and only then realised where we had seen it before.
That is much more enjoyable than moving through Seoul with fifteen GPS coordinates and trying to reproduce every camera angle. Walk around Anguk. Continue through Insadong. Explore the streets towards Jongno. You will probably pass filming locations without even trying.
Area / nearest station: Anguk Station (Line 3) / Jongno 3-ga depending on the street.
Our verdict: strong recommendation. Go for the neighbourhoods and enjoy recognising the dramas when it happens.
Gyeongbokgung and Gwanghwamun
Seen in: Love in the Moonlight, The King: Eternal Monarch and numerous historical productions.
Gyeongbokgung appeared in Love in the Moonlight, while Gwanghwamun Square became one of the defining Seoul locations of The King: Eternal Monarch. The latter’s first meeting between Lee Gon and Jung Tae-eul takes place here, with Gyeongbokgung forming part of the visual backdrop.
But calling this merely a K-drama filming stop undersells it. Gyeongbokgung is one of Seoul’s most important historical sites, and Gwanghwamun is part of the city’s historic core.
Area / nearest station: Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) / Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5).
Our verdict: absolutely go. The drama is context, not the reason.
N Seoul Tower and Namsan
Seen in: Business Proposal, King the Land, Love Next Door, True Beauty, Boys Over Flowers, The Legend of the Blue Sea and many more.
There are so many N Seoul Tower appearances that keeping a definitive list is almost pointless. What matters is that the tower is only part of the experience.
We would combine it with Namsan, the Seoul City Wall and Baekbeom Square rather than travelling up solely to photograph the love locks.
Area / nearest station: Myeongdong Station (Line 4), then walk/cable car towards Namsan.
Our verdict: go. The tower is iconic; Namsan makes the visit worthwhile.
Itaewon and the Itaewon Class route
Seen in: Itaewon Class.
Few dramas are as inseparable from a Seoul neighbourhood as Itaewon Class. And that makes it one of the best dramas to use as the basis for an actual walk.
Noksapyeong Overpass, the DanBam/Seoul Bam area, G Guesthouse, the Angel Wings stairs, Itaewon Children’s Park and Baekbeom Square are some of the series’ locations. Noksapyeong Overpass is especially recognisable: Saeroyi and Yi-seo meet there repeatedly with N Seoul Tower visible behind them.
But don’t arrive, take a bridge photograph and leave. Explore Itaewon and Haebangchon. Walk the streets. Stop somewhere. Come towards evening. We had an amazing food experience in Itaewon at Pig Restaurant and it happened so randomly that it made us appreciate the area even more.
Area / nearest station: Noksapyeong Station (Line 6).
Our verdict: go. This is one of the rare dramas where following the filming locations can genuinely help you explore a worthwhile Seoul neighbourhood.
Baekbeom Square
Seen in: Itaewon Class, Love Alarm.
Baekbeom Square works even better than some of the more famous Itaewon Class locations because the drama is not the only reason to be there. The Seoul City Wall, Namsan and views towards N Seoul Tower make it a beautiful place to walk. Korea Tourism Organization identifies it as the location of the Saeroyi–Yi-seo kiss scene.
Area / nearest station: Hoehyeon Station (Line 4).
Our verdict: strong recommendation, especially combined with Namsan.
Naksan Park
Seen in: Itaewon Class, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, Call It Love, My Sweet Mobster.
Naksan is one of our favourites regardless of television. It is easy to understand why filmmakers repeatedly use it: the Seoul City Wall, rooftops, hills and skyline give you a very particular view of the city.
Walk the wall and continue towards Ihwa rather than treating it as one viewpoint.
Area / nearest station: Hyehwa Station (Line 4).
Our verdict: one of the best locations in this guide.
Ihwa Mural Village
Seen in: Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, Love Next Door, Our Unwritten Seoul.
We genuinely love Ihwa and return independently of its screen appearances. The hillside streets and connection with Naksan are the real attraction for us. Walk from Naksan into Ihwa rather than arriving solely to find a mural. And remember that it is residential.
Area / nearest station: Hyehwa Station (Line 4).
Our verdict: go. Naksan + Ihwa together is one of the best walks on this list.
Sinchon stairs and tunnels
Seen in: Lovely Runner, Family by Choice, Undercover High School, Twinkling Watermelon, Goblin.
This location becomes much more interesting once you realise it is not attached to just one drama.
The stairs appear in Lovely Runner and Undercover High School. The tunnel beside them features in Family by Choice. Nearby, the Sinchon Graffiti Tunnel has appeared in Twinkling Watermelon and Goblin.
That gives the area cumulative value for K-drama fans rather than making it one random staircase. Sinchon itself is also a busy university neighbourhood, so there is more to do once you arrive.
The nearby 7-Eleven is different. It appears in Doctor Slump and Undercover High School, but it remains a convenience store.
Look if you’re there. Don’t cross Seoul for it.
Area / nearest station: Sinchon Station (Line 2).
Our verdict: worth visiting, especially if you have watched several of these dramas.
Seongbukcheon Stream
Seen in: Lovely Runner, Pro Bono.
Seongbukcheon is one of the more meaningful Lovely Runner filming locations: this is where Sol retrieves Sun-jae’s watch and travels back in time, effectively setting the story in motion. It later appeared again in Pro Bono. But we like this one because the stream is not simply a piece of K-drama scenery.
Seongbukcheon runs through a residential part of northern Seoul and feels much more local and low-key than Cheonggyecheon. Korea JoongAng Daily describes it as a 3.7-kilometre stream used by residents and university students, with seasonal flowers and outdoor food stalls appearing in good weather.
Area / nearest station: Sungshin Women’s University Station (Line 4), around five minutes on foot.
Our verdict: worth visiting, particularly for Lovely Runner fans. It gives you both an important filming location and a quieter part of Seoul most first-time visitors never see.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Seen in: Vincenzo, Lovely Runner, Love Alarm.
DDP is another location that television keeps rediscovering. It became the Eclipse concert location in Lovely Runner, appears at the end of Vincenzo and was used for the Love Alarm 2.0 launch event in Love Alarm.
The building itself is worth seeing if you enjoy contemporary architecture and design. We prefer it towards evening.
Area / nearest station: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (Lines 2, 4, 5).
Our verdict: worth visiting regardless of K-drama, particularly combined with Dongdaemun and Naksan.
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Seen in: See You in My 19th Life, Marry My Husband, Love Scout and others.
Cheonggyecheon is almost too easy to include to need much debate. It runs through central Seoul, and the area around Gwangtonggyo Bridge has been used repeatedly. More recent series including Marry My Husband and Love Scout keep the location current. We love the stream for a walk, to relax, to talk to people and simply watch the city of Seoul changing so quickly and so often.
Area / nearest station: Jonggak Station (Line 1) or Jongno 3-ga (Lines 1, 3, 5), depending on which section you want to walk.
Our verdict: go if you are nearby, which you probably will be.
Tapgol Park
Seen in: Squid Game Season 2.
Tapgol Park appears in the opening episode of Squid Game Season 2, where the Recruiter offers people a choice between bread and a lottery ticket before destroying the bread that remains.
But the park matters for a much bigger reason. Tapgol Park is Seoul’s first modern public park and one of the most important sites associated with the March 1 Independence Movement of 1919. It also contains the ten-storey stone pagoda from the former Wongaksa Temple site. VISITKOREA documents both its historical significance and current public access.
It is also very easy to combine with Jongno, Ikseon-dong and Insadong rather than treating it as an isolated Squid Game pilgrimage.
Area / nearest station: Jongno · Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1, 3 and 5).
Our verdict: go. The Squid Game connection makes it recognisable, but Korean history gives you a much better reason to stop.
Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway
Seen in: Doctor Slump, Extraordinary Attorney Woo and others.
Jeong-woo and Ha-neul walk here in Doctor Slump, while Young-woo and Jun-ho use the wall in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. We wouldn’t cross Seoul for the wall. But Deoksugung, City Hall and Jeongdong make the wider area worthwhile.
Area / nearest station: City Hall Station (Lines 1, 2).
Our verdict: walk it when you are already in central Seoul.
Han River: Yeouido and Banpo
Seen in: Start-Up, Legend of the Blue Sea, Itaewon Class, Our Unwritten Seoul and countless others.
Rather than treating “the Han River” as one location, it is useful to identify the parks directors actually use. Yeouido Hangang Park appears in Start-Up as the setting associated with Dal-mi’s grandmother’s food truck and in Legend of the Blue Sea. Banpo appears in Itaewon Class, while the much more recent Our Unwritten Seoul also filmed Mi-ji and Ho-soo beside the river near Banpo Bridge.
But this is one place where we would forget the camera angles. Seoul residents actually use the river for cycling, meeting friends, eating and spending evenings outside.
Area / nearest station: Yeouinaru Station (Line 5) or Express Bus Terminal Station (Lines 3, 7, 9) for Banpo.
Our verdict: absolutely go. Choose whichever Hangang park fits your itinerary rather than chasing one exact bench.
Yonsei University
Seen in: True Beauty, Extraordinary You, Reply 1994, A Time Called You, Hello, My Twenties!, Snowdrop, Undercover High School and more.
Yonsei has played so many fictional schools and universities that it deserves inclusion. The ivy-covered historic buildings are genuinely attractive, and the campus has a much longer screen history than current K-drama tourism. It is a functioning university, so behave accordingly and be mindful that access to individual buildings is different from walking through the public campus areas.
Area / nearest station: Sinchon Station (Line 2).
Our verdict: worth visiting if you are already exploring Sinchon, particularly for fans of campus dramas.
Gyeongui Line Forest Park
Seen in: Because This Is My First Life, I Am Not a Robot, Romance is a Bonus Book.
This linear park around the Hongdae/Yeonnam area works precisely because you don’t need to make a filming-location trip out of it. If you are already exploring western Seoul, walk through.
Area / nearest station: Hongik University Station (Line 2 / AREX / Gyeongui-Jungang), for the Yeonnam section.
Our verdict: worth seeing as part of Yeonnam/Hongdae; not worth crossing Seoul solely for a scene.
Seoul Forest
Seen in: It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Love Alarm, My Demon, Lovely Runner, Squid Game and other productions.
Seoul Forest has appeared repeatedly in K-dramas because its open lawns, wooded paths and quieter corners give directors something very different from central Seoul.
In It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the park is used for calmer walking scenes and interactions between the characters. Love Alarm also uses its open green spaces as a backdrop for meetings and reflective moments, while in My Demon it becomes a date location for Gu-won and Do-hee, including scenes in episodes 9 and 16. More recently, the wider Seoul Forest area has continued to appear in productions such as Lovely Runner. Squid Game fans may also recognise Seoul Forest Station rather than the park itself: it is used for the scene where Gi-hun plays ddakji with the Recruiter.
But we would recommend Seoul Forest independently of any of these dramas. It is one of Seoul’s best large urban parks and particularly easy to combine with Seongsu, so there is very little reason to treat it as an isolated filming-location excursion.
Area / nearest station: Seoul Forest Station (Suin-Bundang Line), Exit 3.
Our verdict: go, especially if you are already exploring Seongsu. There are enough K-drama connections here to make recognition fun, but the park is worth your time without them.
Namdaemun / Sungnyemun
Seen in: Love Scout.
A scene from Love Scout has Eun-ho and Ji-yun eating tteokbokki in front of Sungnyemun, giving another current drama connection to one of Seoul’s major historic gates. You don’t need the scene to justify visiting.
Area / nearest station: Hoehyeon Station (Line 4).
Our verdict: worth seeing anyway, particularly if you are already around Namdaemun Market or central Seoul.
K-drama locations that are interesting but don’t need a special trip
Lotte World
Seen in: Business Proposal, True Beauty, Love Alarm and numerous other dramas.
K-dramas love amusement-park dates. Business Proposal used Lotte World for Tae-moo and Ha-ri’s bumper cars, carousel and corn-dog date. If you like theme parks, the drama connection makes Lotte World more fun.
We don’t like them enough to devote a portion of a Seoul day to one because fictional people had a romantic date there.
Area / nearest station: Jamsil Station (Lines 2, 8).
Our verdict: skip unless you genuinely want Lotte World.
COEX Aquarium
Seen in: I Can Hear Your Voice, DNA Lover, Queen of Tears, and other productions.
The aquarium’s underwater tunnel is recognisable to fans and undeniably lends itself to romantic television scenes. But admission costs money, the attraction takes time and it’s not unique.
If you like aquariums, go. If the exact scene means something to you, go.
Area / nearest station: Samseong Station (Line 2) or Bongeunsa Station (Line 9).
Our verdict: skip if you have no reason to go.
Starfield Library
Seen in: Record of Youth and other productions.
Starfield Library is different because it is free and sits directly inside COEX Mall. The huge bookcases look more spectacular in carefully framed photographs than the actual experience necessarily feels, but if you are at COEX there is almost no reason not to look.
Area / nearest station: Samseong Station (Line 2) or Bongeunsa Station (Line 9).
Our verdict: see it if you are already there. Don’t cross Seoul specifically for it.
Common Ground
Seen in: Vincenzo, Our Unwritten Seoul.
The blue shipping-container complex is visually distinctive, which explains the screen appeal. Vincenzo filmed Vincenzo and Cha-young eating here; Our Unwritten Seoul brought cameras back more recently.
Area / nearest station: Konkuk University Station (Lines 2, 7).
Our verdict: interesting if you are already in the area or if you are returning to Seoul. Not a priority.
Oil Tank Culture Park
Seen in: Start-Up.
Along with Nodeul Island, the former oil depot was transformed into part of the fictional Sandbox environment in Start-Up. The park is interesting from an urban-regeneration perspective, but it is less central than many locations in this guide.
Area / nearest station: World Cup Stadium Station (Line 6).
Our verdict: good for Start-Up fans or people interested in architecture and reused industrial spaces; otherwise optional.
Nodeul Island
Seen in: Start-Up.
Nodeul Island was used as Sandbox, the start-up campus central to the drama. This is one of the filming transformations we particularly like because the real place is also worth seeing: Nodeul is a cultural space in the middle of the Han River with outdoor areas, music and river views. Seoul Tourism Organization specifically identifies it as the real filming location for Sandbox.
Area / nearest station: Nodeul Station (Line 9), Exit 2, around 700–800 metres away.
Our verdict: underrated. Go if the location fits your route, particularly towards the end of the day.
Munhwa Pedestrian Bridge / Yeouido Saetgang
Seen in: Doctor Slump.
Jeong-woo runs across this pedestrian bridge in Doctor Slump. The bridge sits around the Yeouido Saetgang Ecological Park area.
Area / nearest station: Saetgang Station (Lines 9 / Sillim Line).
Our verdict: pleasant if you are already in Yeouido. We wouldn’t build a journey around the scene.
Boramae Park
Seen in: Strong Woman Do Bong-soon.
The park was used for the scene where Min-hyuk flies the drone with Bong-soon. Boramae itself is a perfectly pleasant Seoul park. But Seoul has many excellent parks.
Area / nearest station: Boramae Park Station (Sillim Line) or Boramae Station (Line 7 / Sillim Line).
Our verdict: fans nearby, yes. Dedicated cross-city journey, no.
Which Seoul K-drama locations are most worth visiting?
If you want our shortest answer, we would prioritise:
- Jongno and Anguk
- Naksan Park and Ihwa
- Itaewon and Noksapyeong
- Namsan and Baekbeom Square
- the Han River
- Gyeongbokgung and Gwanghwamun
- Bukchon
- Cheonggyecheon
- Sinchon, especially if you recognise several of its filming locations
They are the places where the K-drama connection adds something to an experience we would recommend anyway. But that does not make the other locations pointless.
The value of a filming location is unusually personal. A convenience store can be completely ordinary to us and genuinely exciting to someone who remembers exactly what happened there. An amusement park we would happily skip may be one of the places another traveller is most excited to see.
That is part of the fun. What we would avoid is assuming that a location deserves your time simply because a drama made it look important.
K-dramas are exceptionally good at giving ordinary places emotional weight. A bridge becomes memorable because of a conversation. A staircase matters because somebody waited there. A neighbourhood becomes familiar before you have ever walked through it.
And then you arrive in Seoul and discover what remains once the scene is gone. Sometimes the place is even better than you expected. Often the bridge really is just a bridge. But occasionally you turn a corner, recognise something you were not even looking for, and Seoul suddenly feels strangely familiar. Those have always been our favourite K-drama moments in the city.
Use the dramas to make you curious. Then let Seoul decide which locations are actually worth remembering.