I have never been the kind of person who travels somewhere just because a drama or celebrity was filmed there. If I visit a place in Seoul, I usually want another reason to go as well, whether that means good food, an interesting neighborhood, history, architecture, or simply a pleasant walk.
Something that happened near my in-laws’ home made me understand filming-location tourism a little better. A café my father-in-law often visits was used for a shoot with Korean singer Lim Young-woong, and afterward fans began coming to see the place for themselves. To my family it was still an ordinary local café, but to those fans it had become connected to someone they liked and a moment they remembered.
That experience changed how I approached this guide. Instead of listing as many famous filming locations as possible, I chose three places in Seoul that connect with popular Korean dramas but also have enough to offer on their own: The Hyundai Seoul, Yunboseon-gil and Bukchon, and the Naksan section of the Seoul City Wall.
Why I Chose These Three Filming Locations
A location can look very different in real life from the way it appears on screen. Camera angles, lighting, editing, temporary signs, and set decoration can completely change how a familiar place feels in a drama, and finding that difference can be part of the fun for fans.
For this guide, however, I wanted places that could fit naturally into an ordinary Seoul itinerary. The Hyundai Seoul works as a shopping and dining destination, Bukchon offers historic streets and hanok architecture, and Naksan combines a section of the old city wall with a walk and wide views over Seoul. The drama connection adds another layer rather than being the only reason to visit.
The Hyundai Seoul: Queen of Tears and Modern Seoul
In the Netflix drama Queen of Tears, The Hyundai Seoul was used as part of the fictional Queens Department Store. The real department store is in Yeouido, one of Seoul’s major business districts, and its large open interior makes it easy to understand why it worked well on screen.
One of its best-known spaces is Sounds Forest, an indoor garden area surrounded by multiple floors of shops and restaurants. The building feels more open than many traditional department stores, and pop-up shops and brand events change regularly, so there is usually something new to see even for people who are not particularly interested in the drama.
The Hyundai Seoul also fits easily into a day in Yeouido. You can combine it with the Han River, Yeouido Park, IFC Mall, or other places in the district rather than traveling across Seoul for a single filming spot. That makes it the easiest of these three locations to visit without building a special itinerary around it.
If you watched Queen of Tears, recognizing the department store can add some fun to the visit. If you did not, it still works perfectly well as a modern Seoul shopping and dining stop.
Yunboseon-gil and Bukchon: Love Next Door and an Older Side of Seoul
The Netflix drama Love Next Door used streets around Yunboseon-gil and Bukchon to create the fictional neighborhood where much of the story takes place. In the drama, the streets feel intimate and residential, which suits an area of Seoul known for narrow lanes, hanok houses, old walls, galleries, and small shops.
This part of the city is very different from Yeouido. Anguk, Bukchon, Insadong, Gyeongbokgung, and Changdeokgung are all relatively close together, so the area works particularly well if you want to spend several hours walking through an older part of central Seoul.
The most important thing to remember is that Bukchon is not simply an outdoor film set or tourist attraction. People still live in the neighborhood, and visitors should keep their voices down, avoid photographing inside private homes, and respect signs asking people not to enter residential spaces.
There are also current restrictions in parts of Bukchon. Seoul has designated sections of the neighborhood as a Special Management Area, and tourists in the Red Zone are currently restricted to visiting between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The rule does not apply to every street in Bukchon, so it is worth checking Seoul’s current Bukchon visitor information before planning an early-morning or evening visit.
If you are looking for a specific scene from Love Next Door, the streets may feel less immediately recognizable than they did on screen because filming changes the way real places are framed. Even so, this is one of the easiest filming areas to include in a normal sightseeing day because so many historic and cultural places are nearby.
Naksan Seoul City Wall: A Filming Location With a View Worth the Walk
Naksan and the Seoul City Wall have appeared in a number of Korean dramas over the years. The combination of stone walls, hillside paths, stairways, and city views makes the area especially suitable for walking scenes, conversations, and nighttime sequences.
What I like about Naksan is that the walk itself gives you a reason to go. I probably would not climb a hill only because an actor once stood there, but an old city wall, a pleasant walking route, and views over Seoul make the effort feel worthwhile.
The Naksan section is part of the much larger Seoul City Wall, which once surrounded the capital during the Joseon period. You do not need to walk the entire wall to enjoy this area; even a shorter section gives you a sense of how the historic wall follows the shape of Seoul’s hills while the modern city spreads out below.
One possible route is to begin around Hyehwamun and walk toward Naksan and then in the direction of Heunginjimun, depending on how much time and energy you have. The path includes slopes and stairs, so comfortable shoes are a better choice than treating it as a quick photo stop.
Evening can be particularly attractive because the city lights begin to appear below the wall. If a scene from a drama brought you there, the view may be what you remember most afterward.
How to Fit These Locations Into a Seoul Itinerary
The three locations are in different parts of Seoul, so I would not try to visit all of them simply because they appeared in dramas. Each one fits more naturally with other places nearby.
The Hyundai Seoul works best as part of a Yeouido day, especially if you also want to spend time by the Han River or shop in the area. Yunboseon-gil and Bukchon fit naturally with Anguk, Insadong, Gyeongbokgung, or Changdeokgung, while Naksan can be combined with Hyehwa, Daehangno, Dongdaemun, or another section of the Seoul City Wall.
If you are trying to locate a specific filming spot, Korean map apps are usually more useful than relying only on English searches. Saving the Korean place name before you leave can also make navigation much easier. I explain how I use Naver Map and other local tools in my Korea Travel Apps Guide.
It is also worth leaving some flexibility in the schedule. A location that looked dramatic on screen may turn out to be a small corner of a much larger neighborhood, and spending time walking around the surrounding area often makes the visit more enjoyable than searching only for the exact camera angle.
I still would not plan an entire Seoul trip around filming locations, but I understand their appeal better than I once did. Seeing fans travel to the café near my in-laws’ home showed me how an ordinary place can hold a completely different meaning for someone who connects it with a person or story they love.
The three places in this guide work for me because that connection is only part of the experience. The Hyundai offers a modern side of Seoul, Bukchon brings you into an older residential and historic district, and Naksan gives you a walk along the city wall with views over the city. A drama may be the reason you notice them, but there is still something to enjoy after the scene itself is no longer the main focus.
About the Author 🇰🇷
I live in South Korea and write about the small details of Korean life and culture that I experience and observe firsthand.
English is my second language, so I sometimes use tools such as Gemini and Google Translate to help with translation and editing. The experiences, observations, opinions, and cultural perspectives in my articles are my own, and I personally review and edit every article before publishing it.
My goal with Korea Core Info is simple: to share everyday Korea from a local perspective and help international readers discover things they might not always find in a typical travel guide.
I hope my stories and guides help you understand Korea a little better — not just as a place to visit, but as a place where people live their everyday lives.