Squid Game Locations in Korea: What’s Real and What’s Gone

Two folded paper ddakji tiles, one blue and one red, on a plain surface

By YUNA, my pen name. I read the official pages, then tell you what I’d do.

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Last checked: November 1, 2026

Netflix’s own location guide names seven filming places in Korea, and two of them, the game arena and the island, are places you can’t reach. The game sets in Daejeon have been dismantled, and the island is private.

I read Netflix’s guide, Seoul City’s 2021 list and the culture ministry’s Hallyu tour course side by side. What’s left fits in half a day: an hour in Ssangmun-dong, then Line 4 to Myeongdong for a walk on Namsan.

Quick answer

  • ✅ Worth it: Ssangmun-dong and Namsan, both public places
  • 📍 Gone or off-limits: the Daejeon game sets, Sangbong Terminal, Seongapdo island
  • 🚇 Ddakji station: Seoul Forest or Yangjae Citizen’s Forest, depending on the source

Namsan cable car ticket on KlookT-money card on Klook

Real or gone: the short list

I sorted every place named by Netflix, Seoul City or Korea’s culture ministry by one test: whether you can stand where the scene happened today.

Place In the show Today
Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu Where the main characters met Residential streets you can walk
Baegun Market, Dobong-gu Sang-woo’s mother’s fish shop Listed in 2023, shop not rechecked
Seoul Forest or Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Station The ddakji game Working subway stations
Namsan walking path The players part after the vote Public park
Sangbong Terminal The horse-racing scene Closed November 30, 2023
Incheon International Airport Several scenes Open, and you’ll probably land there
Wolmido, Incheon Theme park filming Amusement parks, hours not confirmed
Daejeon Expo Science Park Every game round Sets dismantled
Seongapdo The island Private, closed to the public

Ssangmun-dong: the stop I’d actually make

The station name sign for Ssangmun Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 in Dobong-gu
The platform sign at Ssangmun Station on Line 4 in Dobong-gu. Photo: LERK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Netflix describes Ssangmun-dong as a residential neighborhood in Dobong District. Seoul City’s 2021 guide names it as the place where the main characters, who later play the games together, met.

Nothing here was built for visitors. This is a residential area, so keep your voice down and point your camera at the street, not at people’s homes. Seoul’s guide names the neighborhood, not a street, so I’d treat it as an hour’s walk around the area rather than a hunt for one spot. You can take Line 4 there from Myeongdong with no transfer.

Korea’s culture ministry put Paldo Dried Seafood in Baegun Market on its 2023 tour course as Sang-woo’s mother’s fish shop. That listing is three years old, so treat the shop as a bonus rather than the reason for your trip.

💬 Say it in Korean

백운시장 어디예요?

Baegun sijang eodiyeyo?

“Where’s Baegun Market?” Show it to a shopkeeper if your map app sends you in circles.

Ssangmun Station is on Line 4, which runs straight to Myeongdong Station with no transfer. If you’re staying in Myeongdong, the trip is one ride each way, so you can pair it with Namsan without crossing town.

The ddakji station: two sources, two stations

The underground platform of Seoul Forest Station on the Suin-Bundang Line in Seongdong-gu
The platform at Seoul Forest Station on the Suin-Bundang Line. Photo: LERK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Netflix’s guide places the Recruiter, played by Gong Yoo, in a Seoul subway. It names Seoul Forest Station in Seongdong District as the station where Gi-hun learns his ddakji lesson the hard way.

Seoul City’s November 2021 guide gives a different answer: it says the ddakji scene was filmed at Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Station. Neither page says which season it means, and Seoul’s page came out before Season 2.

Both are ordinary working stations, so expect a platform and a lot of commuters. I’d pick Seoul Forest Station, because it’s the one Netflix names and Seongsu is close by. If you want a photo, go after the morning rush so you’re not in anyone’s way.

💡 Yuna’s tip

Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Station is on the Shinbundang Line, which the Climate Card doesn’t cover. If you’re riding on a Climate Card, Seoul Forest is the easier stop.

🎟️ Book it

Namsan: the walk after the vote

Seoul City’s guide puts a later scene on Namsan. After the players vote to stop the games and go back to real life, they part ways on a Namsan walking path. Netflix lists Namsan Mountain Park too, the home of the Namsan Cable Car and N Seoul Tower.

Seoul’s guide doesn’t say which path, so think of this as a walk in the right setting, not a hunt for the exact spot. If you’d rather ride up, the cable car runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the last ticket is sold 30 minutes before closing.

Adults pay 15,000 won round trip or 12,000 won one way. The hours can change in bad weather, so check them before you head up in the evening.

Yuna’s pick

Fan with half a day: Ssangmun-dong in the morning, then Line 4 to Myeongdong and a Namsan walk before dark.

Riding on a Climate Card: Seoul Forest Station for the ddakji stop, with Seongsu next door.

Only one free afternoon: I’d choose Ssangmun-dong, where Seoul’s guide says the main characters met.

🎟️ Book it

Gone: Sangbong Terminal and the 2025 pop-ups

The front of Sangbong Bus Terminal in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, before it closed in 2023
Sangbong Bus Terminal in Jungnang-gu, closed since November 30, 2023. Photo: Integral, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, via Wikimedia Commons

Seoul City says the horse-racing scene, Gi-hun’s one lucky day, was filmed at Sangbong Terminal. The culture ministry lists it as the place where loan sharks chase him. You can’t see either place now.

The Fact reported that the terminal closed on November 30, 2023, after 38 years of service. I could not confirm what stands on the site now, so you can leave it off your route.

Older posts and fan maps may also send you to events that have already ended. Squid Game: The Experience in Seongsu ran from February 28 to June 25, 2025. Seoul’s Season 3 finale event at Gwanghwamun Square and Seoul Plaza was on June 28, 2025, and the pop-up that followed closed on July 6, 2025.

The 4-meter Young-hee doll at Olympic Park was planned as a three-month display in 2021, so you won’t need to go looking for it at the park. As of November 1, 2026, I couldn’t find a Squid Game exhibition open anywhere in Seoul.

Off-limits: the game arena and the island

Netflix says every game round was filmed on sets at Daejeon Expo Science Park, and those sets have since been dismantled. The sets are gone, so you don’t need to take a train to Daejeon for the show alone.

Netflix calls Seongapdo a private island that the general public can’t enter. Its suggestion is a boat trip along the coast off Incheon, where the island sits. I could find no public boat to it, so I wouldn’t plan any part of your trip around it.

Seopori Beach on Deokjeokdo, an island in Ongjin County off the coast of Incheon
Deokjeokdo, an Ongjin County island off Incheon, not Seongapdo itself. Photo: LT sfm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Incheon: the airport and Wolmido

Amusement park rides along the waterfront on Wolmido island in Incheon
The amusement rides on Wolmido, a small island in Incheon.

Netflix says several scenes were filmed at Incheon International Airport. If you’re flying into Incheon, you’ll walk through it anyway, so count it as a stop you don’t have to plan.

Netflix also says filming took place on Wolmido and at Wolmi Theme Park. The culture ministry names My Land instead, another park on the same island. I couldn’t confirm either park’s winter hours. I’d only add Wolmido if you’re already spending a day in Incheon, and I’d check the hours first.

The ministry’s list also has Gyodong Elementary School for the children’s game at the start of the show. Schools aren’t sightseeing stops, so I’d leave it off your list.

Honest take

What remains to visit is ordinary: a Seoul neighborhood, a subway platform and a park path. I’d give them half a day and skip everything outside Seoul.

FAQ

Can you visit the Squid Game island?

No. Netflix says Seongapdo is private and closed to the public. Netflix suggests a boat trip along the coast instead, which you’d have to arrange yourself.

Is there a Squid Game experience in Seoul right now?

Not that I could find as of November 1, 2026. The Seongsu experience closed on June 25, 2025, and the Gwanghwamun events ended on July 6, 2025.

Where can I try dalgona?

In 2021, Seoul City pointed to vendors on Myeongdong’s main street, at the entrance to Ssamziegil in Insadong, and at Hyehwa Station Exit 2. The culture ministry’s 2023 course adds a toy shop in Insadong that sold dalgona kits.

Both lists are a few years old. I’d look for a stall in those areas rather than count on one spot.

Do I need a tour?

Not for the Seoul places. Ssangmun Station, Seoul Forest Station and Myeongdong for the Namsan cable car are all on the subway, so you can do them on your own.

How much time do you need?

Half a day covers Ssangmun-dong and a Namsan walk. If you also want the ddakji station and Seongsu, plan on most of a day, and save Wolmido for a separate day in Incheon if you go at all.

Was any of it filmed in Jeju?

No. Netflix says no scene was filmed on Jeju, which only gets a mention in Season 1.

If you spot a Squid Game pop-up I’ve missed, send it through the Contact page.

Hwaiting!

Yuna

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Sources and last check

How I put this guide together: from Netflix’s own location guide, Seoul City’s 2021 and 2025 pages, the culture ministry’s Hallyu tour course and Korean news reports, all checked on November 1, 2026. Where the sources disagree, as they do on the ddakji station, I’ve named both. More on how I research every guide is on the About page.

Last checked: November 1, 2026. Shops, events and opening hours change, so please confirm before you travel. This is an independent guide, not affiliated with Netflix or any place named here.

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Hi, I'm Yuna. I read the Korean-only fine print so your trip doesn't have to start with a puzzle, and then I tell you what I'd pick.

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