The main reason I went to Yongin was to visit Dae Jang Geum Park.
Dae Jang Geum Park in the distance
It sits somewhere so awkward to reach that you find yourself wondering who would put a park here. I’m guessing they secured a big plot of land at the foot of the mountains to use for filming. It looks like MBC puts it to heavy use for their historical dramas.
The entrance
Tickets aren’t cheap. Hard to get to and not cheap to get into, so there weren’t many visitors either.
Dae Jang Geum Park
They have this too.
The flogging bench
Here’s the fun part: they leave gear like this out and you’re allowed to touch it. Nobody’s around and nothing is roped off. So you can even lie down on it and try being flogged.
The “Dae Jang Geum, Jewel in the Palace” set
If you’re a Dae Jang Geum fan, I think you’d have fun visiting.
Cauldron lids
I doubt most people today have ever seen one of these, but back in the day this is what we cooked our rice in.
A Dae Jang Geum filming location
If you look closely you’ll notice things do feel a little unmaintained.
Round the back
There’s Kim Soo-hyun.
The Dae Jang Geum royal kitchen, the Surakgan
They’ve done a proper job on places like this too.
The jangdokdae, the jar terrace
Old houses always had a jangdokdae, but you never see them these days.
A building
This one’s a Goryeo-era nobleman’s residence, and it’s gorgeous.
The fortress gate
A view that feels awfully familiar.
Where “Daechwita” was filmed
It looks like a copy of Gyeongbokgung, and apparently this is where “Daechwita” was shot. So that’s where it was.
A building
Buildings like this aren’t being kept up, but I’d guess they tidy everything before a shoot.
A building
Something about it feels like I’ve seen it in a drama.
A building.
There are all sorts of different spaces.
A market scene
I’d bet this one gets used for filming a lot.
The cafe
I was only about halfway around, but the place is so vast that I was worn out, so I went up to the cafe for a break. Just the right spot to rest, I’d say.
Behind the cafe
It really is huge.
The MBC exhibition hall
There really have been a lot of historical dramas.
The view
Seen like this, the scale of it is enormous.
A building
A building
A building
Apparently this is Hyeminseo, where The King’s Doctor was filmed.
A building
Filming in progress
They actually had a shoot going on.
The view
The fortress gate
The watermill
The prison
They have one of these too.
The prison
The prison
No crowds, loads of space, hands-on things to try, and on top of that it’s where “Daechwita” was filmed, so it really is a great place to take the kids. They can run around and nobody says a word. I think idol fans and drama fans would come away happy too. The one thing is that outside of filming season it does feel a bit neglected. Allow for that and it’s well worth a visit.
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