About this page
These are the XO, Kitty places outside Seoul. The central Seoul route is in the XO, Kitty Seoul guide, and every place is on the XO, Kitty filming locations page. Each place below has one source so far, so all are labeled reported.
Why visit the XO, Kitty places outside Seoul
XO, Kitty premiered on Netflix on May 18, 2023, as a spin-off of the To All the Boys film series. It follows Kitty Song Covey, played by Anna Cathcart, who leaves the United States to attend KISS, the Korean Independent School of Seoul — the school her late mother attended. Season 2 followed on Jan 16, 2025, and Season 3 premiered on Apr 2, 2026.
The school at the center of the show is fictional, so its rooms and events were borrowed from real national landmarks — and that is what makes this page different from the Seoul route. Instead of streets and cafés, you visit a fortress command post, a national museum, and a national library: places worth the trip even if you never watched the show. Then Season 3 moves the story to Busan.
All five stops are real, public places. None of them is a set. Each filming claim rests on a single source — Netflix Tudum for the Season 1 places, Yonhap for the Season 3 Busan places — so every stop is labeled reported until a second, independent source confirms it.
Season 1: Suwon, Cheonan and Sejong
Season 1 borrowed national landmarks for school scenes: the National Library of Korea in Sejong stands in for the KISS library, and the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan hosts the end-of-term talent show, according to Netflix Tudum. Tudum also names Seojangdae, the command post on Suwon’s Hwaseong Fortress.
The three places share a scale that a school set could never match. Hwaseong Fortress was built from 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo, and UNESCO lists its walls at 5.74 kilometers, enclosing the center of Suwon. The Independence Hall, which opened in 1987, holds seven exhibition halls tracing Korea’s independence movements, under the Hall of the Nation. The Sejong library, which opened in December 2013 in a book-shaped building, is a policy library that also serves the public, with a children’s library and book rental. Suwon has other filming spots on this site: see the Lovely Runner Suwon walk.
Season 3: Busan
Yonhap lists Haeundae Market and Gamcheon Culture Village among Season 3’s Busan places. The pairing works because the two stops show opposite sides of the city: Haeundae Market is a working market near Haeundae Beach, selling fresh vegetables, meat and seafood alongside street food, while Gamcheon is a hillside village of staircase houses decorated with murals and sculptures. Gamcheon is a residential neighborhood, so visit quietly. For another Busan-set title, see our Black Panther Busan guide.
Visiting the five stops
Seojangdae, Hwaseong Fortress (Suwon). Seojangdae is the western command post, standing on Paldalsan hill above the fortress wall. Walking the wall is free and the grounds are open around the clock, according to VisitKorea; the palace inside the fortress is a separate, ticketed attraction, so check the fortress’s official page for its hours and fees. The full wall circuit is a long walk — wear comfortable shoes and allow a half day if you want the whole loop rather than just the command post.
Independence Hall of Korea (Cheonan). A national museum, free to enter. VisitKorea lists its hours as 09:30–18:00 from March to October and 09:30–17:00 from November to February, with last admission one hour before closing, and closed on Mondays (open if Monday is a public holiday). Plan three to four hours for the seven exhibition halls and the grounds, and check the hall’s official site before you go, since hours can change.
National Library of Korea, Sejong. A working public and policy library in a book-shaped building, opened in December 2013. It is not a sightseeing attraction with a tour route: keep quiet inside, and check the library’s official site for opening days and photo rules before visiting.
Haeundae Market (Busan). A working traditional market near Haeundae Beach. VisitKorea lists its hours as 09:00–22:00, varying by store. Stalls keep their own hours; ask before photographing vendors. Pair it with a walk on the beach, which is a short walk away.
Gamcheon Culture Village (Busan). A hillside village formed by refugees of the Korean War, who built their houses in staircase fashion on the foothills of a coastal mountain, according to VisitKorea. Its alleys are decorated with murals and sculptures. Entry to the village is free. It is a place where people live: keep noise down, do not enter homes, and do not photograph residents, per VisitKorea’s etiquette guide.
How we checked this page
Each filming claim in this page is tied to a named source listed below. Stops marked reported have one qualifying source: Netflix Tudum for the three Season 1 places, Yonhap for the two Season 3 Busan places. A second, independent source is still missing for each, and the status badge on each card says so. Visitor details — hours, fees, and history — were checked against VisitKorea, UNESCO, and the library’s own site, accessed Oct 18, 2026. We do not use drama stills. Where a detail is unverified, it is left out rather than stated as fact.
Getting there
These are separate trips. Check trains on Korail and plan the last leg with Kakao Map or Naver Map. Treat each city — Suwon, Cheonan, Sejong — as its own trip from Seoul, and give Busan a trip of its own, pairing Haeundae Market and Gamcheon across one or two days there.
Sources
All sources for this guide
Accessed Oct 1, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted. Visitor details checked against the sources below, accessed Oct 18, 2026.
- Netflix Tudum — Where Is ‘XO, Kitty’ Filmed?
- Yonhap, via Nate — Seoul as the setting for overseas series (Apr 19, 2026)
- VisitKorea — Travel etiquette in Gamcheon Culture Village
- Wikipedia — XO, Kitty (premiere dates, spin-off, KISS)
- UNESCO — Hwaseong Fortress (built late 18th century by King Jeongjo; 5.74 km walls)
- VisitKorea — The Independence Hall of Korea (hours, free admission, seven halls)
- VisitKorea — Busan Haeundae Market (hours, products)
- VisitKorea — Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (history, free entry)
- infoDOCKET / Dong-A Ilbo — National Sejong Library opening (opened December 2013; policy library with public functions)
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