Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 9 (Part 2) – Visiting K-drama filming locations in the Bukchon Hanok Village

11 May 2012 

Bukchon Hanok village is the place to visit in Seoul if you want to see the traditional Korean houses or hanoks.  Access to the hanok village area is via Bukchon-ro Road straight ahead from the Anguk subway station, exit 2. 

We had been to Bukchon area in a previous visit in 2011 but that was done was part of a guided city tour which did not give us the freedom to explore the area at our own pace. This time round, we planned to take our time and to make it more interesting, we would be hunting down some of the locations used in the filming of some of the K-dramas we had watched.

Tip: Check out this cool one day small group tour, with English speaking guide, that brings you to the latest K-drama filming sites in Seoul without you having to do your own research!

Our first “checkpoint” for our hunt this morning is the two hanoks used in the filming of the K-drama “Heartstrings” featuring Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa. Coming out from the Anguk station, exit 2, we go straight up along Bukchon-ro Road to the first traffic junction, turn right at the junction and then turn left again onto the first major side road. This road actually leads up to a local school. Somewhere near the middle, there is a pasta restaurant shown below. This restaurant can be seen in some scenes of the drama.

This restaurant marks the entrance of the short road leading to the filming locations.

Opposite this restaurant, there is a short lane leading the Park Shin Hye’s hanok (house number 70-5) and Jung Yong Hwa’s hanok (house number 70-28) as featured in the drama.

Lane leading to the 2 houses featured in the K-drama “Heartstrings”.

Lee Shin’s (played by actor Jung Yong Hwa) house (house number 70-28). Only the entrances were featured in the drama. The interior is probably shot on a film stage.

Lee Kyo Won’s (played by actress Park Shin Hye) house (house number 70-5).

These are private residences, so we took our photos quietly and did not linger too long outside.

Continuing on, there were many shops selling interesting curios outside. Near the entrance to the school, we came across a small shop selling memorabilia of Korean Hallyu stars. Not much variety and most of the items were pretty dated. I managed to find a mug featuring Yoon Eun Hye with her short hairstyle from the “1st Shop of the Coffee Prince” drama while my wife was eyeing some posters of some Korean male actors. The friendly shop lady wanted 8000 KRW for the mug. I negotiated the price to 5000 KRW. Actually it was still a bit pricey for a mug and I could probably get a better deal if I persisted. But then the lady needs to make a living and I need to have a souvenir of Seoul with pictures of beautiful Yoon Eun Hye on it. So it was a done deal.

Bukchon Hanok Village is an interesting area and it was best to take our time to explore the narrow alleys, admire the traditional houses, shoot photos and enjoy the walk. We managed to get a sneak peak at the inside of one of the hanoks. Beautiful! Some of the hanoks are operating as guest houses, so staying at a traditional hanok is a possibility for a tourist but I guessed it would be pretty pricey.

Rustic houses.

Taking the time to comb through the narrow alleyways leading to some beautifully restored hanoks.

Beautiful interiors of a hanok – seen through the open door. We did not venture in as this could be a private residence.

Is this art? Old mobile phones all over.

Interesting roof gutter in the shape of a duck.

We then came out to the main road (Bukchon-ro Road), walk down in the direction towards the Anguk Subway station and enter the other half of the Hanok Village through a small road on the right side called Bukchon Ro 11 Gil. We had been here before (see this post) as part of the guided tour. We noticed some small shops have had renovations done since the last time we were here in 2011.

Our next “checkpoint” is the Sanggojae, the house featured in Korea drama “Personal Taste” starring Lee Min Ho.  The house is number 43 located at the higher part of Bukchon. This house is more well known and there were other drama fans outside posing for pictures. We met a Japanese lady and a couple from Spain!  Looks like Korea drama is also popular outside Asia. As we were taking our photos, more fans turned up at house 43.

Our photo at the Sanggojae, taken with the help of a Japanese fan.

From the Sanggojae, we took the familiar route back to the Gahoe dong.

This is one of the recommended photo-spots for the Bukchon Hanok Village.

Roofs of the hanoks,

We rounded up our visit to the hanok village with a cup of coffee at this interesting cafe located at the junction of the Bukchon-ro Road and Bukchon Ro 11 Gil. This cafe served gourmet coffee that was super good.

Sitting outside to enjoy the weather.

Nice decor inside.

We ordered a cup of normal coffee and a cup of gourmet coffee. Comparing the two cups, we could appreciate the extra money we paid for the gourmet coffee.

The specially brewed coffee is super good and strong.

Gourmet coffee served in a nice small cup.

Energised after our coffee break, we headed back to the Anguk Subway station and found our way to Insadong.

Acknowledgements

1. Directions to the hanoks used in filming of Heartstrings (aka You Have Fallen For Me) are thanks to this website.

2. Directions to the Sanggojae, the house featured in Korea drama “Personal Taste” are thanks to this website.