K-DRAMA: 5 Dramas That Will Make You Book a Flight to Korea

Every K-drama fan knows the feeling: the credits roll, and suddenly you are pricing flights to Seoul. The good news is that the places on screen are real — and many of them are set up for visitors, with photo zones, signs, and tours marking the exact spots where the famous scenes were filmed. Here are five dramas whose filming locations are genuinely worth the trip, from a tree-lined island to a windswept breakwater on Korea's east coast.

📺 The Dramas

1. Winter Sonata (2002) — Nami Island, Gapyeong. The drama that started it all. Nami Island's tree-lined avenues — the famous metasequoia lane and the Pine Tree Lane where the couple shared their first kiss — turned a quiet riverside island into the birthplace of K-drama tourism, and twenty years later fans still come to walk the same paths. The island is a five-minute ferry ride from Gapyeong Wharf, and entry (including the round-trip ferry) is ₩19,000 for adults. Pair it with nearby Petite France and the Garden of Morning Calm for a full Gapyeong day trip from Seoul.
2. Goblin (2016) — Jumunjin Breakwater, Gangneung. The most photographed K-drama spot in Korea: the stone breakwater in Gangneung where the goblin first appears to the heroine. Fans arrive with red scarves to recreate the scene, and the beach is beautiful even if you have never seen the show. In Seoul, walk the Deoksugung Stone Wall Road, where the goblin and Eun-tak walked again and again — in autumn it becomes a golden ginkgo tunnel. Gangneung is a few hours from Seoul by KTX train and makes a rewarding overnight by the sea.
3. Crash Landing on You (2019–2020) — Hallasan National Park, Jeju Island. The paragliding crash-landing that opens the story was filmed on Jeju Island, in Hallasan National Park — not at the DMZ. The Swiss lakeside scenes were filmed in Switzerland, but the Korean locations are plenty: Jeju's volcanic landscapes, and back in Seoul, the Han River at Banpo Hangang Park, where Yoon Se-ri's riverside running scenes were shot. Jeju is a one-hour flight from Seoul, and Hallasan is the island's unmissable centerpiece.
4. Itaewon Class (2020) — Itaewon, Seoul. The drama's DanBam pub sits in Itaewon, Seoul's most international neighborhood — and the area is worth visiting on its own: Hooker Hill and the streets around it are packed with global restaurants, rooftop bars, and late-night energy. The Cheonggyecheon Stream, the restored 11-kilometer stream through downtown Seoul, features in Itaewon Class and dozens of other dramas as the go-to spot for nighttime walks and heart-to-hearts.
5. Squid Game (2021) — Seoul. The show that turned K-drama into a global phenomenon also put ordinary Seoul on the map. The ddakji game scene was filmed at Yangjae Station, and the Cheonggyecheon Stream — where so many dramas stage their quiet, emotional moments — runs through the show as well. A Squid Game–themed walk through Seoul is an easy add-on to any first trip: subway stations, streams, and neighborhoods you will recognize instantly.

✈️ Travel Tie-In

A K-drama pilgrimage makes a wonderful family trip: fly from New York to Incheon, base yourself in Seoul for three or four nights, then add day trips — Nami Island and Petite France from Gapyeong (about 90 minutes by ITX train), and an overnight in Gangneung by KTX for the Goblin breakwater. Autumn is the best season to go: Seoul's foliage peaks from late October to mid-November, when the ginkgo trees along Deoksugung Stone Wall Road turn gold — the exact backdrop the dramas made famous. The Korea Tourism Organization marks most major filming locations with signs and photo zones, so you will know you are standing in the right spot.

🍜 What to Try

Eat like the characters: Korean fried chicken and beer (the classic "chimaek" combo), tteokbokki from a street stall in Itaewon, Jeju black pork barbecue after a day on Hallasan, and coffee on Gangneung's famous coffee street after the breakwater. And if you visit Nami Island, try the local dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) in nearby Chuncheon — the city is famous for it.

Tip for parents: a Korea trip with a toddler is very doable — Seoul's subways have elevators, the palaces and parks are stroller-friendly, and Korean restaurants are famously welcoming to kids. Start with one drama location per day and let the rest of the trip be playgrounds, palaces, and pancakes.