About the drama
Doctor X: The Era of the White Mafia (닥터X: 하얀 마피아의 시대) is an SBS Friday–Saturday medical noir that premiered on 9 October 2026 and runs for 12 episodes. Kim Ji-won plays Gye Su-jeong, a genius freelance surgeon dispatched by a staffing agency to the fictional Guseo University Hospital, where she takes on the corruption and power factions — the “white mafia” — inside it. Lee Jung-eun plays agency head Jang Hee-sook and Son Hyun-joo plays hospital director Bu Seung-kwon. The series streams on Netflix alongside the SBS broadcast.
The opening weeks drew a growing audience. The premiere recorded an 11.4% nationwide rating, the second episode rose to 14.9%, and the fourth episode peaked at 20.8%, with a nationwide figure of 18.5% reported alongside it, according to Nielsen Korea figures reported in the Korean press. No later-episode ratings are added here, as none were verified for this update.
Most of the story plays out inside the hospital, and those interiors are a built set whose location the production has not disclosed. Real-world locations are only added to this guide when a source names them — the first, a Jongno street shoot described by the production’s own medical adviser, a second, a Yangju restaurant named by a fan, three fan-spotted additions from a Oct 31, 2026 fan roundup, and twelve fan-spotted additions from episodes 5–8, are listed below. No real hospital is named anywhere in this guide as a stand-in for the fictional Guseo University Hospital. Operating hospitals are otherwise excluded from this site; the Yangsan hospital stop added in this update is fan-spotted only and is not a stand-in claim.
Filming locations
Sewoon Sangga street, Jongno (Reported)
The first outdoor scene of episode 1 was filmed on the road by Sewoon Sangga (세운상가), the electronics arcade on Cheonggyecheon-ro in Jongno, Seoul. The source is Professor Namgung In, an emergency-medicine specialist who worked as the drama’s on-set medical adviser: in a social-media post after the premiere, he recalled the episode 1 opening outdoor shoot — a freezing winter night, an empty street at 3 a.m., and the crew spraying water onto the Sewoon Sangga road with a water truck before filming. Korean entertainment press (MyDaily, OSEN, Xports News and bnt News) reported his account on 12–13 October 2026. A further outlet, Star News, carried the same first-person account on 12 October 2026, noting that this was the adviser’s first time advising on a drama set. Because every report traces back to that single post of 10 October 2026, the stop is listed as Reported, not Confirmed — the extra outlet adds coverage, not a second independent source.
The street itself is reportedly an ordinary public road, not a marked filming spot: no marker, plaque or exact kerb position on the road is published here, because no source names one. What you are visiting, in other words, is the stretch of road beside the arcade where that night shoot reportedly took place, rather than a signed location.
Sewoon Sangga is worth the trip beyond the drama, and its history is well documented by Seoul’s own tourism and city sources. Visit Seoul describes it as Korea’s first mixed residential-commercial complex, completed in 1968, which went on to become the country’s leading electronics arcade before being revived from the mid-2010s by a Seoul urban-regeneration project. Its ground-floor “Dasi Sewoon Plaza” now hosts flea markets, festivals and exhibitions, so a visit can easily fill an hour even without any drama connection.
While you are there, the same Visit Seoul article points to two features above street level: a rooftop rest space on the 9th floor with views over Jongmyo Shrine, and the Sewoon pedestrian deck and “Dasi Sewoon Bridge” linking the arcade buildings, with the bridge crossing above Cheonggyecheon stream. The rooftop is listed as open weekdays 10:00–20:00. Step-free access inside the arcade and the current rooftop entry route are not published here — no official source found for this update states them.
The same arcade previously stood in for Geumga Plaza in Vincenzo — see the Vincenzo guide for that stop. That cross-reference is now stronger than the Doctor X claim itself: Seoul City’s own Media Hub article on Vincenzo filming locations identifies the Sewoon Cheonggye arcade’s distinctive exterior as the building shown as Geumga Plaza, and notes the pedestrian bridge link created in 2014 and the arcade’s 1968 construction as Korea’s first mixed-use building, designed by Kim Swoo-geun. Do not confuse the two verdicts: the Vincenzo connection is confirmed by an official city source, while the Doctor X street shoot remains Reported.
Sewoon Sangga itself is easy to visit: it is a public arcade at 159 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, a 280-metre walk from Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1, 3 and 5), Exit 12, per Visit Seoul. Visit Seoul lists the arcade open 09:00–19:00 on weekdays and Saturdays, closed Sundays and public holidays, with individual shop hours varying.
Songchu Buil Budaejjigae, Yangju (Fan-spotted)
Spotted by fans as the episode 4 restaurant scene: a doctor in scrubs and a white coat shares a budae-jjigae meal and a conversation with an older woman at this small drivers’ restaurant (기사식당) in Yangju, Gyeonggi. The identification comes from a single fan Instagram reel posted 18 October 2026 — no second source has corroborated it, so this stop is listed as Fan-spotted. It is an operating restaurant; visit as a guest, not as a guaranteed filming location.
The address is now confirmed: the fan roundup gives 1338 Buheung-ro, and a business directory lists 송추부일기사식당 at the same address (1338 Buheung-ro, Yangju-si). The fan blogs also give the lot form of the address (419-6 Yuyang-dong). What is still unverified is the filming claim itself: searches for the episode 4 restaurant and for the restaurant name returned no press, broadcaster or official source naming this restaurant as a Doctor X location, so the single fan reel remains the only source and the stop stays Fan-spotted.
No practical details are given for this stop beyond the address and the “operating restaurant” framing: its opening hours and nearest station are unverified, because no government, tourism-body or broadcaster source states them. No subway station, bus route or walking time is published for the restaurant, and no KTX time or fare is claimed for it either. Yangju works as a day trip from Seoul; any intercity rail leg should be checked on Korail timetables, with journey times varying depending on the train/route — see https://www.letskorail.com/ebizcom/cs/guide/guide/guide11.do. Go for the food, not for a guaranteed filming spot.
How we checked
The Sewoon Sangga claim rests on one primary account — the on-set medical adviser’s own post of 10 October 2026 — carried by several press outlets; under this site’s rules that is one source, so the stop is Reported. Star News (12 October 2026) was added in this update as a further carrier of the same account, but it does not change the count: five outlets reporting one post still equal one source chain. The adviser’s episode detail (the opening outdoor scene of episode 1) is the only scene description used. The visitor and history paragraphs for Sewoon Sangga rest on different, official sources — Visit Seoul’s Sewoon Sangga listing and its “Old&New” article on the arcade, and Seoul City Media Hub articles on the arcade’s history and on its Vincenzo role — and those sources support only the visitor and cross-reference claims, not the Doctor X shoot. The Yangju restaurant rests on a single fan Instagram reel (Oct 18, 2026) that labels its clip as the episode 4 restaurant scene; under this site’s rules that is one fan source, so the stop is Fan-spotted. A 25 October re-sweep found no press, broadcaster or official second source for the restaurant. The address is now confirmed: the fan roundup gives 1338 Buheung-ro and a business directory lists the restaurant at that address, so the address is printed; hours and station remain unverified and are not added. Guseo University Hospital is fictional and is not listed; no real hospital is named as its stand-in. Operating hospitals are otherwise excluded from this site; the Yangsan hospital stop added in this update is fan-spotted only and is not a stand-in claim. The hospital interiors are a set whose location the production has not disclosed. This 7 November 2026 update adds twelve fan-spotted stops from episodes 5–8 (fan roundup second.bkbrokr.com, updated Nov 1, 2026); upgrades the May 18th National Cemetery to Reported on one press source (TV Report, Oct 27, 2026); and confirms the Yangju restaurant’s address (fan roundup plus business directory).
Also on this site
Sources
All sources for this guide
Accessed Oct 10, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.
- SBS official program page — https://programs.sbs.co.kr/drama/doctorx
- Netflix Korea (official YouTube) — Doctor X: The Era of the White Mafia teaser, “10월 9일, 넷플릭스에서”
- TenAsia — Premiere Oct 9, 2026, 12 episodes (Sep 30, 2026)
- Topstarnews — Netflix October lineup (Oct 1, 2026)
- MyDaily (Oct 12, 2026, accessed Oct 20, 2026) — On-set medical adviser Namgung In on the episode 1 Sewoon Sangga road shoot
- OSEN (Oct 12, 2026, accessed Oct 20, 2026) — Namgung In behind-the-scenes account
- Xports News (Oct 12, 2026, accessed Oct 20, 2026) — Namgung In behind-the-scenes account
- bnt News (Oct 13, 2026, accessed Oct 20, 2026) — Namgung In behind-the-scenes account
- Visit Seoul (accessed Oct 20, 2026) — Sewoon Sangga: 159 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu; 09:00–19:00; closed Sundays and public holidays; Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 12, 280 m
- Seoul City, Media Hub (accessed Oct 20, 2026) — Sewoon Sangga: 159 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu; 09:00–19:00
- Instagram reel (@lovely_yoovely_, Oct 18, 2026, accessed Oct 20, 2026) — fan labels clip as the Doctor X episode 4 restaurant scene (fan source)
- Star News (Oct 12, 2026, accessed Oct 25, 2026) — same on-set medical adviser account as entries 5–8; same single source chain, not an independent source; also episodes 1–2 ratings
- Visit Seoul (content dated Jul 16, 2026, accessed Oct 25, 2026) — Seoul Old&New Project: Dasi Sewoon, Sewoon Sangga — 1968 first mixed complex, regeneration, Dasi Sewoon Plaza, rooftop and pedestrian deck/bridge
- Seoul City, Media Hub (accessed Oct 25, 2026) — Sewoon Sangga history: 1966 project, seven buildings, first mixed-use complex
- Seoul City, Media Hub (accessed Oct 25, 2026) — Vincenzo filming locations: Sewoon Cheonggye arcade exterior as Geumga Plaza
- Newsen (Oct 18, 2026, accessed Oct 25, 2026) — episode 4 ratings, peak 20.8%, national 18.5%
- haechi-travel — Doctor X filming locations roundup (fan blog, updated Oct 31, 2026) (fan source)
- second.bkbrokr — Doctor X filming locations by episode (fan blog, updated Nov 1, 2026) (fan source, accessed Nov 7, 2026)
- TV Report (Oct 27, 2026) — Episode 6 bus scene at the May 18th National Cemetery Gate of Democracy; movable prop bus-stop sign (accessed Nov 7, 2026)
- korea724.info — 송추부일기사식당 business directory listing, 1338 Buheung-ro, Yangju (accessed Nov 7, 2026)
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