Parasite Seoul Walk: 3 Spots (3 Confirmed)

Stairs as story

Parasite (기생충, 2019) is Bong Joon-ho’s film about the poor Kim family working their way into the wealthy Park household. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Stairs run through the film, and press coverage notes that the director used the Jahamun Tunnel stairs and tunnel to show the gap between rich and poor.

Seoul City and the Seoul Tourism Organization promoted four real locations from the film in 2020, with themed walking courses around them. Seoul asked visitors not to disturb residents, since the areas are mostly residential.

All three stops are in central Seoul, reached by subway, so the set works as a single Seoul day out — start at the Jahamun Tunnel stairs, then Ahyeon-dong and Noryangjin.

What’s real and what was a set

The Park family’s house was a set, not a real home. It was built on an outdoor lot at the Jeonju Film Production Complex in North Jeolla, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. The Kims’ semi-basement and their alley were also a set, built inside a large water tank at the Goyang Aqua Studio, according to Hankook Ilbo. Neither is a place to visit, so this guide gives no locations for them.

Route 1: Jahamun Tunnel stairs and Gyeongbokgung

The Jahamun Tunnel stairs in Buam-dong are the film’s best-known location: Seoul City says the Kims run down them in the rain to escape the Parks. The Seoul Tourism Organization pairs them with nearby sights: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Daeo Bookstore in Seochon (now run as a café) and Seokpajeong.

Route 2: Noryangjin

Seoul promoted Sky Pizza in Noryangjin, the “Pizza Sidae” shop where the Kims fold pizza boxes, alongside the Han River parks and Noryangjin Fish Market. Sky Pizza is listed as a stop on this page: VisitKorea’s Parasite tour page, updated in December 2025, still lists it with opening hours, and a May 2025 visit review found it open. It is a small working pizza shop in a residential street — buy something if you go in, and check the day’s hours before you go, as listings vary. The Han River parks and Noryangjin Fish Market are worth a visit on their own.

Route 3: Ahyeon-dong

Check before you go: the corner shop from this course has closed (see below), and Seoul approved the neighborhood for public redevelopment in 2026, so the area may change. Gi-taek’s neighborhood stairs, which Seoul City says lead toward the Park house, are in a residential area: visit briefly and quietly. The Seoul Tourism Organization pairs the course with Jungnim-ro, Seoullo 7017 and the Yeomcheongyo handmade-shoe street.

Lost filming spots

Doejissal Supermarket (the film’s “Woori Supermarket”), Ahyeon-dong. The corner shop where Ki-woo’s friend offers him the tutoring job closed in May 2025, and its interior was being demolished, Hankyung reported. It is no longer a place to visit.

More Seoul walks

For other Seoul filming walks, see Goblin in Seoul, the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood in Squid Game, and My Love from the Star in Seoul. How we grade a stop as confirmed is explained in our method.

Getting there

Jahamun Tunnel stairs: Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3), Exit 2, about a 10-minute walk (VisitSeoul); or buses 7016 or 1711 to the northern end of the tunnel (Korea JoongAng Daily).

Gi-taek’s neighborhood stairs, Ahyeon-dong: buses 600 or 7013 to the “Ahyeondong Furniture Store Complex” stop, minutes from the supermarket site (Korea JoongAng Daily). Travel blogs put the nearest subway at Chungjeongno Station (Lines 2/5), Exit 6, about a 10–11-minute walk — that is blog-sourced, so check Naver Map on the day.

Sky Pizza, Noryangjin: Subway Lines 1 and 9, Noryangjin Station, Exit 6, about a 10-minute walk (VisitSeoul).

All routes are in central Seoul. No inter-stop travel time is claimed here — check the day’s route on Naver Map (English UI) or Seoul Metro.

How to find the Jahamun stairs

From Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3), take Exit 2 and walk about 10 minutes (VisitSeoul). By bus, take 7016 or 1711 to the northern end of the tunnel (Korea JoongAng Daily). The staircase stands on the west side of the northern end and leads to a walkway through the tunnel; to see it from the film’s angle, use the opening on the east side of the northern end.

There is a photo zone and sign near the stairs and at the tunnel entrance. VisitSeoul suggests two shots: pose like the Parasite poster at the tunnel entrance, and photograph the descent from the opposite side of the tunnel. NOL World describes a mosaic photo zone with an introduction to the film at the Buam-dong tunnel-entrance stairs.

Visit tip from Korea JoongAng Daily: go after sunset, especially when it is raining, to match the film’s mood. The tunnel is open to anyone on foot.

Why stairs

Bong Joon-ho has called Parasite “a staircase movie” (Korea JoongAng Daily). CBR quotes him telling Song Kang-ho he would summarise Ki-taek’s story as “a man that wants to go up the stairs, but ultimately ended up going down the stairs.” In a Vanity Fair interview (via Penn State Valley Magazine), Bong explains stairs and water as symbols of the upward and downward climb in society — ascending means rising social status, and water always flows top-down. Korea JoongAng Daily describes the rain escape as running several flights of stairs in at least three different locations in Seoul, starting with the Jahamun stairs.

More on Route 1: Jahamun Tunnel stairs and Gyeongbokgung

The Jahamun Tunnel connects Cheongun-dong with Buam-dong in Jongno-gu and runs about 460 metres, according to VisitKorea. Right next to Seoul Museum, Seokpajeong — the “secret garden loved by the king” — is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00–18:00, and closed Monday and Tuesday (VisitSeoul); buses from Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 3 (1020, 1711, 7016, 7018, 7022, 7212) serve it, and an admission fee applies.

More on Route 3: Ahyeon-dong

VisitKorea’s tour page calls these the stairs Gi-jung climbed after stealing a peach, right next to Doejissal Supermarket, with the road toward Mr. Park’s house at the top. Korea JoongAng Daily places the stairs just steps behind the supermarket, leading down to the alley where the Kims’ home is located and cutting through tightly packed homes. (The supermarket itself has closed — see “Lost filming spots” — but the stairs remain.)

Buses 600 or 7013 to the “Ahyeondong Furniture Store Complex” stop leave you minutes from the supermarket site (Korea JoongAng Daily). The nearest subway is blog-sourced only: travel blogs put Chungjeongno Station (Lines 2/5), Exit 6, about a 10–11-minute walk away, so check Naver Map on the day. Nearby, the Ahyeon-dong Furniture Complex is confirmed as adjacent by Korea JoongAng Daily (“close to a cluster of furniture shops in Ahyeon-dong”); Seosomun Park and Songijeong Sports Park are blog-sourced suggestions.

More on Route 2: Noryangjin

At Sky Pizza, VisitSeoul says fans come to see the pizza boxes that appear in the film, plus the photo and signature of director Bong Joon-ho taken at the time of filming (the owner-and-Bong photo is already noted on the stop card). A Klook travel blog names the shop’s signature dishes as deep-fried chicken, sweet-potato pizza made with natural cheese, and dakgangjeong with a house sweet-and-sour sauce.

VisitSeoul’s “Sky Pizza Course” pairs the shop with Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and “Cupbop Street” (cup-rice street), plus the Hangang River as a chimaek (chicken-and-beer) spot. Third-party guides put the fish market at 674 Nodeul-ro, Dongjak-gu — Noryangjin Station Line 1 Exit 9 (about 150 m) or Line 9 Exit 7 via underpass — with retail sections running roughly 01:30–22:00 (general) and 24 hours (premium/live), auctions closed Sundays, January 1, Seollal and Chuseok, and individual stalls keeping their own hours. Those market hours are third-party-sourced, not the market’s own site, so check before you go — and Sky Pizza’s own listed hours still vary between sources, so no single hours figure is printed here either.

More on Route 3: Seoullo 7017

Seoullo 7017, already named on the Ahyeon-dong course, is an elevated sky garden on a retired 1970s highway overpass near Seoul Station. It is open 24 hours, free, and open year-round (VisitSeoul). Main entries are Seoul Station (Lines 1/4, Exits 2/8 area; VisitSeoul’s attraction page says Exit 7, 148 m) and Hoehyeon Station (Line 4, Exit 3).

Sources

All sources for this guide

Accessed Sep 28, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.

1. Seoul City (Seoul Media Hub) — Parasite filming locations in Seoul (2020)
2. Seoul City (Seoul Media Hub) — Parasite locations by Ttareungyi bike (2021)
3. Seoul Tourism Organization — Press release: Parasite theme courses
4. VisitKorea — “Parasite” Filming Location Tour
5. Seoul Shinmun — Seoul asks visitors not to disturb residents (Feb 11, 2020)
6. Newsis — Parasite locations draw visitors (Feb 11, 2020)
7. CNN Travel — ‘Parasite’ filming locations you can visit in Seoul
8. Kyunghyang Shinmun — 60% filmed at the Jeonju Film Production Complex (Feb 11, 2020)
9. Hankook Ilbo — Semi-basement set at Goyang Aqua Studio (Feb 11, 2020)
10. Hankyung — Doejissal Supermarket closes (May 22, 2025)
11. Edaily — Ahyeon 1 public redevelopment (2026-03)
12. NEON — Parasite
13. korea.kr (Policy Briefing) — ‘Parasite’ supermarket and pizza shop locations (accessed Oct 20, 2026; Sky Pizza address and Noryangjin Station Exit 6 walk)
14. DiningCode — Sky Pizza, Noryangjin (visit review dated May 3, 2025) (accessed Oct 20, 2026; existence check only)
15. Korea JoongAng Daily — Where ‘Parasite’ comes to life — stairs and supermarket locations in Ahyeon-dong
16. VisitSeoul — K-Heritage Course: Jahamun Tunnel stairs, Seokpajeong (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
17. VisitSeoul — K-Picnic Course: Sky Pizza, Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, Cupbop Street (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
18. VisitSeoul — Seoullo 7017 (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
19. CBR — Parasite: Bong Joon-ho on the staircase movie (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
20. NOL World — Jahamun Tunnel (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
21. Klook — Parasite film locations in Seoul (signature dishes only) (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
22. The Seoul Guide — Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market guide (third-party source) (accessed Oct 25, 2026)
23. Seoul Off Script — Noryangjin Fish Market guide (third-party source) (accessed Oct 25, 2026)