Reply 1988 in Seoul and Beyond: 7 Spots (1 Confirmed)

Reply 1988 filming locations

Six stops across Seoul, Uijeongbu, Seosan and Goseong.

The alley was a set

The famous Ssangmun-dong alley — the five houses sharing one lane — was built as a set in Nogyang-dong, Uijeongbu, on a former military-base site next to the Uijeongbu Sports Complex, and has since been demolished. Producer CJ E&M said in January 2016 that keeping the set as a tourist attraction was not feasible, so it was torn down. The drama was not filmed in real Ssangmun-dong. But the real neighborhood is still worth a quiet walk (stop 1), and the actual filming spots below are all real.

Seoul

Ssangmun Station area is the real Ssangmun-dong — residential, so keep it quiet. Choi Kyu-ha Presidential Residence in Mapo hosted Dong-ryong’s family interiors; it is free to visit with a resident guide. Air Force Hall in Daebang-dong stood in for the wedding hall.

Beyond Seoul

Uijeongbu Arts Center is a quick hop north. Yalgaki Tteokbokki in Seosan’s Haemi-myeon is the surviving “Brazil tteokbokki” shop, still operating with drama memorabilia on the walls. Ayajin Beach in Goseong is the runaway-scene sea.

Why visit the Reply 1988 locations

Reply 1988 (응답하라 1988) aired on tvN from Nov 6, 2015 to Jan 16, 2016 — 20 episodes on Friday and Saturday nights — and became the highest-rated drama in Korean cable history at the time: the finale recorded 18.803% nationwide with Nielsen Korea, an all-time cable high. It follows five childhood friends and their families sharing one alley in Ssangmun-dong in 1988, the year of the Seoul Olympics, and it is remembered less for its love triangle than for its portrait of parents, neighbors and shared meals.

That alley is the catch. The neighborhood that carries the whole drama was a purpose-built set in Uijeongbu, demolished after filming, so there is no alley to walk. What this guide offers instead is the real geography around it: the actual neighborhood the story is set in, the real house that played Dong-ryong’s family home, the wedding-hall stand-in, the arts center, the surviving tteokbokki shop, and the beach where the friends run away to the sea. One stop — the Choi Kyu-ha residence — is confirmed by Seoul Metropolitan Government sources; the rest are marked reported or fan-spotted exactly as their sources warrant, so you can tell which stops rest on press and official records and which rest on fan research.

Visiting the six stops

Seoul. Start in Dobong-gu at Ssangmun Station (Line 4, Exit 4) for the real Ssangmun-dong — a lived-in residential neighborhood, so keep it quiet and do not photograph homes. Then cross the city to Mapo-gu for the Choi Kyu-ha Presidential Residence, the best stop on this guide: a free public cultural space where Dong-ryong’s family interiors were filmed in episodes 10 and 15, preserved with about 500 household items from former president Choi Kyu-ha’s life. Visits run with a resident guide from Line 2 Hapjeong, Exit 2; it is closed Mondays, January 1, Seollal and Chuseok. Finish the Seoul trio at the Air Force Hall in Daebang-dong, a working wedding hall — exterior viewing only, and this stop stays fan-spotted because only fan sources name it.

Beyond Seoul. Uijeongbu Arts Center is a quick hop north of Seoul and a public performance venue — the easiest day trip of the three. Yalgaki Tteokbokki in Seosan’s Haemi-myeon is the surviving “Brazil tteokbokki” shop, still operating with drama memorabilia on the walls; it is a long day trip from Seoul by intercity bus. Ayajin Beach in Goseong is the runaway-scene sea, a public beach best paired with a Sokcho / Goseong stay. For the same real neighborhood from a different drama, see our Squid Game Ssangmun-dong guide, which covers Baegun Market and the convenience store.

How we checked this guide

Each claim in this guide is tied to a named source listed below. Stops marked confirmed have at least two independent sources: the Choi Kyu-ha residence is confirmed by Seoul Metropolitan Government articles and Metro Seoul press coverage. Stops marked reported have one qualified source, and stops marked fan-spotted rest on fan research alone — the status badge on each card says which. We do not use drama stills, and we do not present the set as visitable or the real Ssangmun-dong as a filming location. Where a detail is unverified — the Air Force Hall identification, the exact schools behind the fictional ones — it is recorded in the guide’s “left out” notes rather than stated as fact. If a source changes or a claim is corrected, this page is updated and the change is recorded.

Good to know: Jjimjilbang (찜질방)

The jjimjilbang is a fixture of the neighborhood life Reply 1988 portrays. Here’s what to expect if you try one.

A jjimjilbang (찜질방) is Korea’s beloved 24-hour bathhouse and sauna complex — part spa, part social club, part budget hotel. The ritual goes like this: pay at the front desk (around ₩10,000–15,000), store your shoes, then head to the gender-separated bathing area. Here’s the part that surprises first-timers: the baths are nude. Shower thoroughly before entering any pool — skipping this is considered extremely rude. After bathing, dry off and change into the provided T-shirt and shorts for the co-ed jjimjil area, where you’ll find themed sauna rooms (salt, jade, clay), heated floors for napping, and a snack bar serving the holy trinity of jjimjilbang food: sikhye (sweet rice drink), baked eggs, and ramyeon. Try folding your towel into the famous sheep-head shape (yangmeori) to keep sweat from your eyes. Key rules: no photos anywhere near the baths (phones stay in your locker), keep voices low in sleeping areas, and don’t stare — everyone is just there to relax. Many Koreans use jjimjilbangs as an affordable overnight stay.

Sources

All sources for this guide

Accessed Oct 6, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted. New sources accessed Oct 18, 2026.

1. Cosmo.ph — Reply 1988 filming locations
2. Preview.ph — Reply 1988 filming locations
3. BNT News — Reply 1988 10th anniversary
4. Campus SG — Ssangmun-dong, the hood that defined Squid Game and Reply 1988
5. Tcatmon wiki — Reply 1988 filming locations
6. Readonly wiki — Reply 1988
7. Soompi — Reply 1988 set to be torn down instead of being preserved as a tourist attraction (CJ E&M statement)
8. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Choi Kyu-ha residence in Reply 1988
9. Metro Seoul — Choi Kyu-ha residence opens to the public
10. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Choi Kyu-ha residence visitor guide
11. Dramabeans — Drama viewership ratings for the week of Jan. 11-17, 2016 (18.803% finale, Nielsen Korea)
12. Wikipedia — Reply 1988 (air dates, episode count, network)