That setting is not a distant studio set. It is Unhyeongung’s Western-style residence (yanggwan) in central Seoul’s Jongno district. Seoul’s traditional hanok sites, known for their quiet atmosphere and distinctive design, have long served as backdrops for major scenes in dramas and films.
Korean traditional architecture is often described as seeking harmony with the surrounding terrain rather than imposing on it. Windows and doors are used not only for light and air but also to frame seasonal scenery — a concept known as “chagyeong,” or “borrowed landscape.”
Marking the green season in May, the Seoul Tourism Foundation recommended four hanok-related sites in Seoul that appear in K-content and reflect both the aesthetics of chagyeong and key moments of modern and contemporary history — from a private residence on a palace-like scale to a modern-era house tied to the Japanese colonial period and a large-scale traditional entertainment venue built during the military government era of the 1960s.
◆ Unhyeongung and its Western-style residence, a center of late Joseon power
Behind thick stone walls in the middle of Jongno, Unhyeongung is the private residence of Heungseon Daewongun, where Emperor Gojong spent his childhood, and a major site in late Joseon history. Its layered tiled roofs set it apart from typical homes of the aristocratic class.
Noandang, Heungseon Daewongun’s main quarters, served as a political stage where power was concentrated during efforts at state reform and regency. Norakdang, the inner quarters, is known for its scale and status — large enough that Gojong and Empress Myeongseong’s wedding ceremony was held there. Today, it is also a downtown refuge where nearby office workers sit on the wooden porch during lunch breaks.
Across the courtyard, on a low hill, stands a sharply different structure: Unhyeongung’s Western-style residence, a two-story Renaissance-style house built around 1912 by Japanese authorities on the site of an ancestral shrine. The article says it was intended to win over and monitor members of the Korean royal family. Designed by Japanese architect Katayama Tokuma, it features arched facades and a foreign-style veranda. A plum blossom motif carved into the exterior wall is cited as a quiet reminder of the humiliation associated with the space.
The building has become a frequent filming location. In “21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife,” it is the veranda where Prince Ian, after crossing into the present day, shares an emotional moment under moonlight with the grand prince’s wife (played by IU). It is also known as the gate featured in tvN’s “Goblin,” where Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) and the grim reaper (Lee Dong-wook) walk as if on a runway, and as the crown prince’s residence in MBC’s “Princess Hours,” where Prince Lee Shin (Ju Ji-hoon) stays.
Nearby, the Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music offers visitors a chance to trace Heungseon Daewongun’s legacy as a supporter of pansori and to listen to regional folk songs reflecting everyday people’s lives.
◆ Seonun-gak and Bonghwang-gak, from a 1960s elite venue to public spaces
Seonun-gak, located in Ui-dong at the foot of Bukhansan, is described as the largest privately built hanok in Seoul, constructed in the 1960s. Despite its traditional exterior, it was built as a high-end entertainment venue where behind-the-scenes politics among powerful figures in politics and business took place during the military government era.
Along with Samcheonggak and Daewongak, it was one of the three leading venues of its time. It has since been fully opened to the public and now operates as a hanok cafe and outdoor wedding venue.
Its long stone wall and stone-paved approach were featured in tvN’s “Mr. Sunshine” as the road leading to the U.S. legation, where Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun) walks while thinking of Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri). Visitors can view Bukhansan’s ridgelines from the main building’s second-floor terrace or sit under the eaves in the courtyard and look out over the lawn and surrounding mountains.
Without painted dancheong decoration, the building’s exposed wood columns and beams are presented as reflecting a restrained spirit. The article notes that a 50-meter climb up a hill behind the rear gate leads to Son’s grave.
◆ Baek In-je House, where modern wealth and national tragedy intersect
In Bukchon Hanok Village, visitors can find the Baek In-je House, marked by a large gate. The modern-era hanok was built in 1913 by Han Sang-ryong, described in the article as a pro-Japanese figure who was then an executive director of the Hansung Bank. The house used high-quality black pine transported by raft from the Amnok River.
The article describes it as a space that concentrated power and capital among the top elite during the Japanese colonial period. Breaking from the standard hanok layout, it connected the men’s quarters and inner quarters with a corridor so residents could move inside without removing shoes. Red brick walls, glass windows and tatami rooms reflect a mix of Western and Japanese techniques of the time.
After passing to journalist Choi Seon-ik, the house became the property in 1944 of Baek In-je, described as a leading surgeon of the era and founder of Baek Hospital, giving it its current name. During the Korean War, Baek was abducted to North Korea, the article says, and his wife, Choi Gyeong-jin, and their children preserved the home, which remains a public asset.
The site has frequently appeared in period dramas and stories depicting wealthy families. In JTBC’s “Reborn Rich,” it served as the garden of “Jeongsimjae,” where Chairman Jin Yang-cheol (Lee Sung-min) walks while testing his youngest grandson, Jin Do-jun (Song Joong-ki). It also appeared in the film “Assassination,” which drew 10 million viewers, as the inner quarters of the home of pro-Japanese character Kang In-guk (Lee Kyung-young).
From the second-floor terrace of the nearby Bukchon Museum of Asian Culture, visitors can view Bukchon’s tiled rooftops, Gyeongbokgung Palace and the ridgeline of Bugaksan.
◆ Suyeonsanbang and Choi Sun-woo’s former home, spaces shaped by writers and scholars
On a steep hillside in Seongbuk-dong, Suyeonsanbang is a renovated hanok built in 1933 by Sangheo Yi Tae-jun, a pioneer of Korean short fiction. The name refers to a “mountain house where writers gather,” and the article describes it as more than a residence: a place where writers sought to sustain Korean literature during the Japanese colonial period.
Writers including Jeong Ji-yong and Yi Sang, members of the literary group Guinhoe, are described as having stayed up through the night there discussing literature and life. Yi also lived there while producing many works.
While following the hanok framework, Suyeonsanbang reorganized functions in a more modern way. The highlight is the numaru porch in front of the main room, which the article says blends with the garden and has drawn filmmakers. It has appeared in works including the film “The Housemaid” and JTBC’s “The World of the Married,” as a setting for secret meetings and tense confrontations. The site now operates as a traditional tea house.
Built in the 1930s in a square “ㅁ”-shaped layout, the house avoids excessive ornament and emphasizes clean lines and the natural texture of wood, the article says. Its courtyard plantings — including pine, hawthorn and peonies — are presented as reflecting the sensibility of a scholar who devoted his life to understanding and promoting Korean aesthetics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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