Goblin (도깨비) Filming Locations in Seoul and Incheon

I'm addicted to Korean dramas and one of my absolute favourites is Goblin so on my recent trip to South Korea I thought I would visit a few of the filming locations and re-create some of my favourite scenes. I didn't initially plan this KDrama tour but after randomly recognising an alley in Samcheong-dong and freaking out over the fact my favourite actors had walked these very same streets it became my new mission to visit as many other filming sites as I could, so this is my journey and a guide on how you can visit them to.

I'll be listing these places in chronological order of appearance although a lot do appear multiple times throughout the series, also this isn't a comprehensive list of every filming location you can visit in Korea just the places I visited.

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YONGDAP STATION BRIDGE

Yongdap Station Subway Line 2, Exit 2

(Exit up the staircase and it will lead you straight up to the bridge)

This is possibly one of the most iconic places in Goblin with many scenes being filmed here throughout the series, from the first scene with Eun-Tak's Mother to Sunny and the Grim Reaper meeting for the first time. This was actually our first successful visit to a Goblin filming location and we weren't the only ones taking shots on the bridge that day, there were several other people re-creating scenes to but we braved the cold and waited till the bridge was clear and after multiple fails finally got those iconic shots!

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DEOKSUGUNG PALACE WALL

City Hall Line 1, Exit 2 

(Turn right at the palace entrance and keep following the walls, turn right again at the "squashed statues" and it'll be down that road, the last right corner of the palace walls)

In the first episode this is where Goblin sees through the walls into Grim Reaper's "teahouse" and they interact for the first time. Our visit to this location was kinda a fail, it was near the American Embassy(?) and there were a lot of guards and police around that day also a valet parking business was running right on that corner of the walls so it was a bit too hectic for us to take any real clean shots. However, it's a really beautiful area of Seoul and although we didn't go into the actual palace the walk around it and seeing all the interesting art and tree lined streets were worth the trip.

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SAMCHEONG-DONG STONE WALL

Anguk Station Line 3, Exit 1

(walk straight then turn right at the intersection, it's the street directly across from Insadong)

This location is where Goblin and Eun-Tak see each other for the first time and Beautiful Life is played which never fails to get me emotional. Such an iconic scene and this is almost perfectly where our KDrama tour all started because I happened to recognise the walls, ask me what I did yesterday and I probably won't be able to tell you but things like this I have a weird memory for! As it was dark when we were first here I didn't manage to get any good shots but we visited Bukchon again in the daytime later in the week and managed to get a few clearer photos despite the crowds of people visiting that day and a random magic show happening in the middle of the street.

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STAIRS OVERLOOKING INCHEON

Dongincheon Station Line 1, Exit 1

(It's is not too far away from Hanmi Bookstore! Here's the LINK for the exact location on google maps)

This location is where Eun-tak escapes from her family in episode 2 then later summons the Goblin to tell him about her new job at the chicken shop. Our main reason for being in this area was to visit Hanmi Bookstore but as we had made the long journey from Seoul to Incheon already and were nearby we thought we might as well visit this place to and I'm glad we did as it's such an unique part of Incheon. To reach the top we went up the backstreet to the left of the second screenshot and there were some beautiful little hanbok houses with some really cute art painted on them in fact by the time I reached the top of the staircase I was so cold and exhausted from the steep climb up I didn't realise I was already sitting where Eun-tak is in that scene. Unfortunately with the sun setting I couldn't get any really clear photos but I still enjoyed the view of Incheon and would recommend a visit there regardless of whether you're a Goblin fan or not as it was just a really interesting part of the city and a stunning place to watch the sunset.

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HANMI BOOK STORE IN INCHEON
Dongincheon Station Line 1, Exit 1

(The store is about a 10 minute walk from the station past some traditional markets! You can find the exact location HERE!)

This is the bookshop that Goblin visits in episode 3 which is also featured in episode 6 where Goblin learns how to be affectionate with Eun-tak and again in episode 8 where Goblin confronts the Lady in Red. This bookshop was one of our main reasons for visiting Incheon, it's in a pretty cool area that has a lot of traditional markets selling Hanboks and the road itself is famous for second hand bookstores but Hanmi is easy to spot because of its bright yellow exterior. I absolutely adored this place it was floor to ceiling filled with books (some in English an Japanese to) and such a cosy place, the owner even gave me a chair to sit on when he saw me on my knees combing through the many children's books they had there which was a really sweet gesture and I did end up finding a beautiful Korean Children's book for just 500 won (less that 50 cents!) so I definitely would recommend a visit there for book shop lovers, it was honestly the bookshop of my dreams and it featuring in one of my favourite dramas was just a bonus!

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SEONGSU-DONG GRAFFITI ALLEY
Seongsu Station Line 2, Exit 4
(Roughly a 5 - 10 minute walk from the station! You can find the exact location HERE!)

In episode 3 Eun-tak accidentally summons the Goblin here when she's grilling squid, this scene actually takes place just after the first appearance of Hanmi book store. This was our final stop on our Goblin tour and probably one of my most favourite discoveries in Seoul. The whole area of Seongsu-dong is known as the Brooklyn of Seoul and it really does remind you of Brooklyn with all the hip designer cafes, vintage stores and street art. Cube Entertainment is also not too far from here and they have a cafe (20 Space) so if you're lucky maybe you could catch a glimpse of Sungjae (BTOB) on his way to the studio.

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SHINSEGAE DEPARTMENT STORE ILLUMINATIONS
Myeong-dong Station Line 4, Exit 5
(Alternatively you can stop at Hoehyeon station on the same line and take exit 7, this is one of the most popular department stores in Korea so should be easy to find) 

In episode 9 and 10 this is where Grim Reaper and Sunny meet for a date and also where she breaks up with him. This location has been featured in so many dramas and I have to admit it wasn't until I was googling pictures of Legend of the Blue Sea I saw it appeared in Goblin to, also I didn't purposely seek out this location I just happened to notice it whilst shopping in Myeong-dong and had to check it out, luckily it was Christmas at the time I was there so the illuminations were out and although you only really see the fountain in the drama the tree was really pretty to.

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SINCHON GRAFITI TUNNEL
Sinchon Station Gyeongui Line, Exit 2
(This station is a bit difficult to get to so you might want to get off at Ewha and walk, the exact location can be found HERE)

In episode 11 this is where Goblin and Grim Reaper re-create their cool slow-mo walking scene from episode 2 but get in the way of a delivery boy on a motorcycle, then wish him a happy new year! This is one of my favourite scenes from Goblin and this was by far the biggest disappointment for me. After attempting to visit the "Goblin House" and randomly finding a filming location in Samcheong-dong this became the first filming location we purposely looked up and decided to visit and we had big ideas on how to recreate the scene, we even dressed up! BUT unfortunately as you can see from the photo below not only was access to the tunnel closed on both sides but all the graffiti there was gone to... FAIL! Luckily after our fails we didn't give up the mission and thankfully we got to take some really amazing photos and visit some other really interesting places we wouldn't have even thought of going to had it not been for our love of Goblin.

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WHITEBIRCH STORY TEA HOUSE

Anguk Station Line 3, Exit 1

(It's not far from the Samcheong-dong stone walls so head there, walk up and it's down the first alley on the left)

In episode 11 this is a cafe which Eun-tak and Sunny visit. I won't go into too much detail about this location as you can read all about it in my previous blog post but we luckily got to sit in the exact same place as they did in this scene!

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Deoksung Women’s University
Anguk Station Line 3, Exit 4
(The entrance to the university is right next to Unhyeongung Royal Residence)

I had this area bookmarked from my previous trip to Seoul as I happened to pass by the palace while it was closing and it looked interesting and after a little bit of research found that it was also the location they used to film the exterior of Goblin's house. So as we were in Insadong we thought we would check it out as it was on our way to Bukchon but our access was denied by these "STOP" signs posted at the entrance which I'd also like to point out are written not only in Korean, but English, Chinese and Japanese and specifically state that they appreciate you're a fan of Goblin but it's a working university so go away.... I'm guessing they must have had some problems with fangirls in the past and although it was tempting to just ignore the signs we respected the universities wishes and went on our way. So if you're thinking of visiting here don't bother because you won't be allowed in! I was obviously a bit sad but it wasn't something I had specifically planned (unlike the graffiti tunnel) so it wasn't much of a loss but I thought I would include it just incase anyone else is planning to visit there.

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What filming locations would you love to visit? Don't forget to check out my Goblin giveaway!

Love & Lattes

Cate

xoxo

BIG thank you to these blogs for helping us find these locations and live out our KDrama dreams:

♥ Travel with Karla

♥ Flyhoneystars

♥ Memago