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Korean drama tourism, known in Korean as hallyu gwangwang (한류 관광), has reshaped the country's travel map since KBS aired Winter Sonata in 2002. The Korea Tourism Organization reports that visitors arriving primarily for Hallyu content jumped from 63,000 in 2020 to 1.765 million in 2023, with Hallyu-linked tourism revenue reaching 2.42 billion dollars that year.
This tour guide pulls together the best K-drama filming locations across Korea and a few essential overseas detours, with logistics for both self-guided travelers and group tour bookers.
Why K-Drama Tourism Took Off: From Winter Sonata to Squid Game
The Hallyu travel surge began with the Winter Sonata effect. After KBS aired the romance in 2002, Japanese viewers flooded Gapyeong to walk the Metasequoia Lane where Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo filmed their first kiss. Nami Island still draws about 3.3 million visitors a year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization, and remains the original K-drama pilgrimage site. Two decades later, Netflix's Squid Game pushed Hallyu travel mainstream, and a 2024 Visit Seoul survey found that one in three foreign tourists named K-content as a primary reason for visiting Korea.
Nami Island: The Original Winter Sonata Set
Nami Island (남이섬) sits on the Bukhangang River in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, about 70 minutes from Seoul by ITX-Cheongchun train to Gapyeong Station. The Metasequoia Lane, transplanted from Seoul National University in 1977, became the symbolic backdrop after Winter Sonata. Adult admission is 19,000 won and includes the ferry. The island operates daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended to 9:30 p.m. between mid-September and mid-November during peak foliage season. Combining Nami with the Garden of Morning Calm and Petite France makes a clean one-day Gapyeong loop.
Squid Game Locations: Olympic Park, Sejong-daero and Seongapdo
Most of the actual game scenes in Squid Game, including the Red Light Green Light arena, were built as indoor sets in Daejeon and Goyang and have been dismantled. Visitable spots include Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, where the 4-meter Younghee doll was installed during the 2021 promotional run and where Netflix later hosted the Squid Game finale fan parade in June 2025. Sejong-daero between Gwanghwamun and Seoul City Hall became the recruitment-street and parade route. The island setting for the games was filmed at Seongapdo (often misreported as Yong Yeon-do), a small island off Incheon. Hangangjin Station and Oksu Station appear in Season 2.
Goblin: Jumunjin Breakwater, Wolyeonggyo and Yeongjong Bridge
tvN's 2016 hit Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin), starring Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun, scattered its sets across Korea and Canada. Quebec City's Petit Champlain quarter hosted the cherry-blossom alley scene. In Korea, the Yeongjong Bridge connecting Incheon Airport hosted the sunset reunion, Yongung-sa Temple near Haedong in Busan provided the seaside backdrop, and the Wolyeonggyo wooden bridge in Andong featured in dream sequences. The most photographed location is the Jumunjin Breakwater in Gangneung, where Ji Eun-tak summons Kim Shin with a candle. The four lead actors returned to Jumunjin in May 2026 to film a 10th anniversary travel special for tvN.
Crash Landing on You: Iseltwald and Mt. Cheong-ok
The 2019 megahit starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin spread its travel impact across two continents. In Switzerland, the village of Iseltwald on Lake Brienz hosts the piano-dock scene that has grown so popular that local authorities installed a pay-for-entry turnstile in 2023. Visitors now pay 5 Swiss francs to access the dock, which drew about 1,000 visitors a day in 2024 according to local tourism officials. The 340-meter Sigriswil Panorama Bridge over the Gummi Gorge appears in episode 4. Korea-side fans head to the Mt. Cheong-ok area near Yangju in Gyeonggi Province, where the demilitarized zone watch-tower scenes were filmed at studio sets later opened for limited tours.
Itaewon Class: DanBam Bar and Noksapyeong Overpass
JTBC's 2020 drama turned the streets around Noksapyeong Station into a daily fan parade. The DanBam food stall run by Park Saeroyi was filmed at a former lamb-skewer joint on Noksapyeong-daero 40-gil in Yongsan-gu that now operates as Seoul Bam, serving menu items from the show. The Noksapyeong pedestrian overpass, captured almost every episode, frames N Seoul Tower above the Haebangchon hillside and remains one of Seoul's most photographed K-drama vantage points. Geumcheon-gu Park in southwest Seoul hosted the fight and reconciliation scenes between Park Saeroyi and Jang Geun-won.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Pohang's Cheongha and Cheonpo Beach
The 2021 tvN rom-com's fictional Gongjin village is actually Cheongha-myeon and Guryongpo in northern Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Cheongha Market preserves the Bora Supermarket, Cheongho Hardware Store and Gongjin Chinese Restaurant exteriors as photo props. The red lighthouse at Cheongjin 2-ri Breakwater, where Hye-jin and Chief Hong reunite, is one of the most-photographed coastal stops. Cheonpo Beach (sometimes spelled Wolpo Beach) hosted Chief Hong's surfing scenes. According to Maeil Shinmun, 41,900 visitors flocked to Cheongha during a single Chuseok holiday after the drama aired, prompting Pohang officials to install signage and parking.
Mr. Sunshine: Sunshine Studio in Nonsan
tvN's 2018 historical drama Mr. Sunshine, starring Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-ri, used a purpose-built open set called Sunshine Studio in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do. The 17,830-square-meter complex reproduces late-Joseon Seoul streets and has since hosted productions including Pachinko and Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938. According to VisitKorea, the studio has drawn more than 410,000 visitors since opening in November 2018. It operates 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Thursdays), with adult admission at 10,000 won. The KTX from Yongsan Station to Nonsan takes about 70 minutes, followed by a 15,000-won taxi ride. Outdoor pine-grove scenes were filmed at Samneung Forest in Gyeongju, easily added to a Gyeongju heritage day trip.
Reply 1988 and The Glory: Ssangmun-dong and Songdo
tvN's 2015 nostalgia hit Reply 1988 built its main cul-de-sac set at the MBC Suwon Drama Center on the grounds of a former military base in Uijeongbu. That set was demolished after filming, but Dobong-gu has installed a Ssangmun-dong walking course with themed signage along the real neighborhood the show is named after. Cafes such as Taegeukdang in Jangchung-dong and Hyehwa Kalguksu in Daehak-ro remain visitable photo stops. Netflix's The Glory (2022 to 2023) filmed the Yongsan-gu officetel scenes in the eponymous district and used Songdo International Business District in Incheon for the schoolyard and snowy revenge sequences.
Vincenzo, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim and Encounter: Plaza Hotel, Songdo IBD and Lotte World Tower
The 2021 tvN crime thriller Vincenzo used the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, as Song Joong-ki's base of operations, while the Sewoon Shopping Center in Jongno doubled as Geumga Plaza. tvN's What's Wrong With Secretary Kim filmed many of its Yumyung Group exterior scenes at the Songdo International Business District in Incheon, including the G-Tower atrium. tvN's 2018 Encounter, starring Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum, mixed Cuban location shooting in Havana with Seoul skyscraper sequences, most notably at Lotte World Tower in Jamsil.
BIFF, Themed Tours and Best Time to Visit
The Busan International Film Festival runs an official K-drama and K-film location tour each October, pairing screenings with bus trips to nearby filming sites including the Geoje Maemool Island used in The K2. Major agencies including Klook, KKday, Trazy and OnedayKorea sell single-day Goblin and Winter Sonata tours from Seoul, typically 80,000 to 130,000 won per person with English-speaking guides. Self-guided travelers can rely on the free Visit Korea app, which includes a Hallyu section with GPS-tagged filming spots. The best windows are March to May and September to November. Avoid drama-finale weekends and Korean public holidays, when popular stops such as Iseltwald and Nami Island are at capacity.
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