I feel really bad counting down the days when it means we’re inching towards the end of this trip. I feel like we’re all getting closer with each passing day and if I get another chance to go on some sort of trip with this group again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to experience a lot of firsts with, because they really think up a lot of fun ideas to make the trip more interesting. For example, this was my first time to go to one of Korea’s many drama sets, and it was also my first time doing the mannequin challenge. So much fun!
Today was the day we were scheduled to head back to Seoul, but before that we passed by Suncheon for a bit since it was about 40 minutes away from Yeosu. I decided to divide today’s post into two because there are so many pictures haha!
Our first stop for the day was the Suncheon Open Film Set, known as the largest filming set in Korea. It was the site used to film 2010 hit ‘King of Baking, Kim Tak-goo’. This drama was very popular in the Philippines as well, but for me it served as my first time seeing Joo Won in a drama. 😆
Thanks to an impressive collection of over 200 buildings ranging from the late 1950’s, in this film set alone you will see several decades of Korean history unfold before your eyes. One moment you are in 1980’s Seoul, then suddenly you will be transported to rural Korea.
At the the next turn you will find yourself amongst old houses used for saeguk dramas. There are also a range of other buildings here like salons, general stores, comic book stores, theatres, pharmacies, and the like.
You can have a lot of fun walking around and taking pictures here. And of course, to keep with the trend, this is a great place for Mannequin Challenge videos. So many settings to choose from!
I actually thought this street food stall was part of a set. It turned out to be real food haha!
Everyone just had a blast posing all over the place and creating a story from the empty film sets. I wonder what is Lydia waiting for there… 😆
And the best part of course was the Mannequin Challenge, Wow Korea Edition! I’ll share my favourite one with you. Thanks for taking these, Lydia!
This is the kind of place that I think is perfect for a trip with family and friends. More than being the site of your favourite drama, I feel like it challenges you to think creatively on how you can create better memories with the people you visit with.
After visiting the filming lot we had a delicious Korean-Western fusion lunch, but when we were told that we would be allowed to visit the supermarket upstairs for snacks to take home, everybody ate quickly to have more shopping time haha!
I think most people outside of Korea recognize Lotte Mart as a good place to buy biscuits and coffee and other sweet goods to take home, but most supermarkets carry the same products. In Manila, we already have quite a lot of Korean grocery stores because a lot of Koreans live there these days, so I never buy stuff from here that we already have there.
What I normally recommend when people ask me what to buy are the crowd favourites– Pepero and Market-O Brownies are always popular, but I always buy the flavours I don’t see in Manila, like the Coconut Chocolate Pepero and the Matcha Market-O. I also really like the Lotte Mix & Match chocolate covered cookie pies.
This is also the only country I’ve seen with Butter Caramel Pringles. They’re good! Also try the Tteokbokki Chips that everyone is recommending! A lot of people I know also love the packed seaweeds. Maybe on my next trip I will make a guide to Korean snacks post on the blog. 😉
Oh and I don’t really know what that is but I just thought I’d throw it in here because I really like Ha Suk Jin! 😂
I realized today as I was shopping that I seriously want to learn how to read Hangul when I get home. I think maybe that will be my 2017 challenge for myself. Anyway, stay tuned for part 2 coming up in a bit!
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Suncheon Open Film Location 순천 드라마 촬영장
24, Biryegol-gil, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do (Jorye-dong)
전라남도 순천시 비례골길 24 (조례동)
Hours: 09:00-18:00 (Last admission at 17:00)
Contact Nos: +82-1577-2013
Website | More information
This post was brought to you by the Korea Tourism Organization.
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