10 iconic K-drama locations that continue to boost tourism in Korea!

There’s nothing like discovering a K-drama location you thought you’d only see on-screen. Here’s a list of popular locations that continue to drag crowds from around the world!

From flower-filled fields on a volcanic island to neon-lit cafés tucked away in Seoul’s busiest neighborhoods, K-dramas have an unmatched ability to turn filming locations into real-life pilgrimage sites for fans around the world. Whether it’s a quiet confession by the Han River, a long-awaited reunion under falling snow at Namsan Tower or a heartfelt moment beside Cheonggyecheon stream, these locations have become inseparable from the stories told within them.

As global interest in Korean entertainment continues to soar, these iconic K-drama settings have played a major role in boosting tourism, making everyday streets, libraries, tunnels, and cafés into must-visit landmarks. From Jeju Island’s golden canola fields in When Life Gives You Tangerines, the nostalgic backdrops of Twenty-Five Twenty-One, to the youthful charm of university campuses seen inTrue BeautyandLovely Runner, these unforgettable K-drama locations continue to draw fans to Korea, eager to walk where their favorite characters once stood and relive the magic for themselves!

Also Read: 12 thoughts I had while watching Kim Seon-Ho and Go Youn-Jung’s ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’

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When Life Gives You Tangerines - Gasi, Jeju Island

Canola flowers play a vital role in Jeju Island’s flora and fauna and symbolise spring. In When Life Gives Tangerines, the blossoming of these vibrant yellow flowers serves as a metaphor for the protagonists’ emerging romances. Their iconic first kiss occurs in a breathtaking canola field in Gasi. The Jeju Canola Flower Festival is also featured in the show; this festival is held annually in the city around the end of March and the beginning of April and instantly became a tourist attraction for many!

Our Unwritten Seoul - Han River

Han River is one of the most popular Seoul destinations as it is and now K-dramas like Our Unwritten Seoul have added an even more special meaning to it. To some of the most romantic love confession scenes being filmed by the beautiful river, only makes avid K-drama fans want to go experience the same magic as their favourite rom-com leads did!

True Beauty - Namsan Tower

After not seeing each other for years, Lee Su-Ho and Lim Joo-Kyung reunite at the top of the Namsan Tower as the first snow falls on them. The drama made fans go up to the tower to not only get an entire view of Seoul City but also seal love locks with their partners!

Lovely Runner and True Beauty - Yonsei University 

For any and every teen K-drama, Yonsei University is the go-to location for filming high school or college sequences. The beautiful architecture and the leaves wrapped around the walls does make it feel like it is a K-drama set indeed. After gaining popularity through K-dramas, the university actually started allowing fans to come visit it during certain hours of the day!

Goblin - Deoksugung Stone Wall Road

The wall has become a known spot not just because of K-dramas but also because Korean couples consider it to be a lucky romantic spot. Regardless, just the aesthetics of the place is enough to attract K-drama fans from around the world!

Record of Youth - Starfield Library

A library that starts from the ground up till the ceiling and is filled with books from every genre you can possibly think of was bound to make it into multiple K-dramas! Record of Youth beautifully captured just how visually pleasing the Starfield Library looked and has now become a mandatory part of everyone’s Instagram photodumps! 

Lovely Runner - Im Sol and Sun-Jae’s house in Su-Won

After Lovely Runner blew up as the number one K-drama of 2024, Byeon Woo-Seok fans wanted to feel as close to him as possible and hence his and Im Sol’s house from the show became a popular K-drama location to go to. Im-Sol’s house is a cafe in real life and fans love taking pictures near the pretty arch with flowers and leaves on it at the entrance and of course outside Sun-Jae’s iconic blue gate!

Queen of Tears - Cheonggyecheon stream

Cheonggyecheon stream is where families in Seoul come for a relaxing weekend and over the years it has become a tourist attraction that cannot be skipped! Shows like Queen of Tears and Lovely Runner filmed some of their most pivotal moments on this stream. You can't forget how Seoul’s light festival here also became a part of shows to boost tourism!

Itaewon Class - Danbam cafe

The entire plot of Itaewon Class centers around a group of misfits trying to make their restaurant work. IRL the restaurant is actually a cafe that fans go visit to reminisce memories from the K-drama!

Twenty-Five Twenty-One - Hanbyeokgul Tunnel and Jeollabuk-Do

Although the K-drama did not give us the happy ending we wanted for Baek Ye-Jin and Naa Hee-Do, the filming locations became a way for fans to keep their relationship alive. From the famous tunnel where Ye-Jin and Hee-Do often met to Naa Hee-Do’s house in Jeollabuk-Do, the show lives on through its locations even today!

Which are some of your favorite K-drama locations? Let us know in the comments below!

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