Single in Seoul Seoul Walk: 4 Spots (4 Reported)

Why visit Seoul for Single in Seoul

Single in Seoul (싱글 인 서울) is a 2023 Korean romantic comedy distributed by Lotte Entertainment and directed by Park Beom-su. Young-ho (Lee Dong-wook), an influencer who enjoys living alone, and Hyun-jin (Lim Soo-jung), an editor who doesn’t, team up on a book about single life in the city. It is a film about how one person lives in Seoul — alone, on foot, by choice — and its four filming locations make a tidy single-life tour of the city: a palace, a cathedral, a low bridge over the Han River, and a riverside park at sunset.

What makes this guide easy to use is that the film’s invented places are already filtered out. Young-ho’s apartment, the publisher’s office (“Dongne Book”) and the flower bookstore were designed for the film, so they are not listed here. What remains is all public and all in central Seoul or on the Han River: two historic stops in Jongno and Myeong-dong, and two riverside stops at the Han. The film’s distributor says the team spent about five months scouting Seoul and shot some outdoor places, such as Myeongdong Cathedral and Gyeongbokgung, over several days to catch different light and seasons. Walk the four in the order below and you get the film’s arc — old city, faith and quiet, then the river at the end of the day.

What was a set

Young-ho’s apartment, the publisher’s office (“Dongne Book”) and Gyeong-a’s flower bookstore were designed for the film, according to the production notes. They are not places you can visit, so this guide does not list them.

Palace and cathedral

Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) is a royal palace in Jongno-gu. Lotte Entertainment says Young-ho and Hyun-jin meet and talk here as the writer and editor of the Single in Seoul essays, and no second source has confirmed this place yet, so it is reported. It is the grandest stop in this guide and the one that needs the most planning: a royal palace with set opening hours and admission, so check the palace’s official page before you go. Find the nearest subway station and walking route on Naver Map (English UI). The hero image for this guide is Gyeonghoeru Hall at Gyeongbokgung.

Myeongdong Cathedral (명동성당) is a working Catholic cathedral in Myeong-dong, central Seoul. Lotte Entertainment says Young-ho, whose hobby is photography, visits the cathedral, and no second source has confirmed this place yet, so it is reported. It is the quiet stop in this guide: a working place of worship in the middle of one of Seoul’s busiest shopping districts. Keep quiet during Mass and follow the posted rules on photography inside. Find the route on Naver Map (English UI); it sits in Myeong-dong, a short walk from the shopping streets in the section below.

Han River

Jamsu Bridge (잠수교) is a public bridge over the Han River at Banpo. Lotte Entertainment says Young-ho also visits Jamsu Bridge to take photos, and no second source has confirmed this place yet, so it is reported. It is a low bridge close to the water, which is what makes it photogenic and what makes it different from the high road bridges upriver: you walk it at river level, with the city on both banks. Check Seoul’s Han River park notices before you go. There is no admission charge. Find the route on Naver Map (English UI).

Han River park at sunset (한강공원) is the one place in this guide without a pin, and that is deliberate. Lotte Entertainment says a scene of Young-ho and Hyun-jin was shot in a Han River park close to sunset, without naming the park, and no second source has confirmed it yet, so it is reported. Treat it as an evening rather than a destination: pick a public riverside park — Banpo, near Jamsu Bridge, is the natural pairing — and be there as the light drops, which is when the film shot its scene. The riverside parks are public and free.

Getting there

All four places are in central Seoul or on the Han River. Find the nearest subway station and walking route on Naver Map (English UI) or Seoul Metro. The palace and the cathedral pair naturally as a Jongno and Myeong-dong half-day; Jamsu Bridge and the Han River park pair as an evening. Do the palace first, the cathedral second, and the river last, to match the film’s own movement from the old city to the water at sunset.

From Busan

We have not checked this route against an official timetable. Search Busan → Seoul on Korail for trains on your travel date.

Shopping near the scene

After Myeongdong Cathedral, you are in the middle of one of Seoul’s main shopping districts. VisitKorea describes Myeong-dong as a one-stop shopping area with road shops, department stores, duty-free shops, and an underground shopping area.

• Olive Young Myeongdong Town — the beauty chain’s Myeong-dong store at 53, Myeong-dong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. VisitKorea lists it as open all year, 10:00–22:30, with tax-refund service.
• Daiso Myeongdong Main Store — the household-goods chain’s main store at 43, Myeong-dong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. VisitKorea lists it as open 10:00–22:00, closed on Seollal/Chuseok, with tax-refund service.

Hours change — check before you go. This section lists chain stores and district-level shopping only; it is not a recommendation of any individual shop.

Plan your trip

Base yourself in Myeong-dong — walk to Myeongdong Cathedral and central for the palace — or in Jongno, close to Gyeongbokgung. Both are in the stay section above, and either one keeps the palace and the cathedral within easy reach, with the Han River an evening subway ride away. Gyeongbokgung has set opening hours and admission; Jamsu Bridge and the riverside parks are free.

Combine with nearby guides. For more Seoul filming locations in the old city, see our Goblin in Seoul guide. For a Seoul neighborhood drama with a very different mood, see our Reply 1988 guide. For a modern Seoul story set around a single neighborhood, see our Vincenzo in Sewoon guide.

How we checked

A spot is confirmed when two independent sources name it as a filming location; it is reported when only one source names it so far. All four places here are reported: they come only from Lotte Entertainment’s own location notes, which count as a single source, and no second, independent source has confirmed any of them yet. The sets — Young-ho’s apartment, the publisher “Dongne Book” and the flower bookstore — were built for the film and are not listed. A café with a Namsan view that the production notes do not name is also left out. Drama background comes from KOFIC and the Lotte Entertainment notes listed below.

Photos: The hero image and all four spots carry a checked CC-licensed photo of the real place, credited on each card. No film stills are used anywhere in this guide.

Sources