The King: Eternal Monarch Filming Locations — Busan and Suwon
The five Busan locations Visit Busan names for The King: Eternal Monarch, plus the one Suwon adds, set out by scene, by what is there now, and by where they sit. Even inside Busan, Gijang and Saha are opposite ends of the city.
Language
The King: Eternal Monarch concentrated its filming in Busan, and then spread it right across Busan. The five locations Visit Busan names run from Gijang in the north-east to Saha in the south-west, and Suwon adds a library on top of that.
So the use of this list is deciding what to give up. There is no trip that takes in all six. What you actually have to choose is which two to pair and which single one to make the journey for.
Inside Busan they fall into three groups
Two in Haeundae — Gunam-ro and Cinema Street are within walking distance of each other. If you are staying in Haeundae they cost no extra time at all.
One in the old centre — Forty Stairs is in Jung-gu, between Busan Station and Nampo-dong. It attaches naturally to a day walking the old city.
Two at opposite edges — Ahopsan Forest is out north-east in Gijang; Dadaepo Beach is south-west in Saha. They are the furthest pair on the list, so do not plan them on the same day. Choosing one is the realistic move.
Who each suits, and in what order
If the drama is why you came to Busan, build the day around Ahopsan Forest. Getting to Gijang and back takes half a day, so leave Dadaepo out of that day and add the two Haeundae streets at most.
If you are slotting a location or two into an ordinary Busan trip, the two Haeundae streets and Forty Stairs are the ones. Walk from Gunam-ro to Cinema Street, and add Forty Stairs on a day you are walking the old centre anyway; the locations then cost you almost no extra travel.
If you can put a sunset into the plan, make Dadaepo the last stop of that day. The white-horse scene gets its effect from the wide sand and the low sun, and Dadaepo is known for its sunsets.
Over two days, that is Haeundae and the old centre on one, and either Ahopsan Forest or Dadaepo on the other. Those two are the furthest apart of the three groups, so the one order to avoid is putting both on the same day.
Opening times, and what to do if one is closed
Gunam-ro, Cinema Street and Forty Stairs are streets and Dadaepo is a beach, so none of them is a venue you buy a ticket to enter. The Sunset Fountain of Dreams on Dadaepo's plaza does have rest days of its own, separate from the beach, so check its schedule if the fountain is part of the plan.
Two places need their terms checked first. Ahopsan Forest is private woodland, so look for its own notice on opening days and how visits work; for Suwon Hallim Library, check the library's notices for hours and closed days. Busan Tourism's location guide gives the place, the address and the scene, but no opening hours.
If Ahopsan Forest is not open on your day, spending it on Haeundae and the old centre means less travel than switching to Dadaepo at the opposite edge. If you reach Dadaepo too late for sunset, the beach is still there to walk — the sunset view Busan Tourism describes is simply tied to that hour.
Suwon is not part of a Busan trip
Suwon Hallim Library comes from Suwon City's own drama-location course and is absent from Visit Busan's list. It is in Suwon, far from the Busan locations, so do not bundle it with them. It is also a working public library, which means looking without disturbing the people using it.
If you only pick one, pick Ahopsan Forest
It is the location Busan Tourism names as the drama's most frequently featured, and Busan Tourism writes that standing at the stone gate in its four-hundred-year-old bamboo feels like standing at the drama's door between worlds. It is privately owned woodland, though, so check whether it is open and on what terms before you go — and allow half a day for Gijang and back.
In this list
BusanAhopsan Forest
The bamboo grove where Lee Gon finds the gate to a parallel Korea. Busan Tourism names it as the location the drama returns to most often. Tall bamboo fills a grove kept for four centuries, with a stone gate standing among it, which makes the scene easy to picture — but it is a long way from the city centre, out in Gijang at the north-eastern edge.
- The scene
- The door between worlds
- What is there now
- A four-century-old bamboo grove and the path through it
- Where it is
- Gijang — the north-eastern edge of Busan
- Add it when
- The drama is why you came to Busan
BusanHaeundae Gunam-ro
The confrontation between Lee Gon and his rival Lee Lim was filmed on this street. It is the main road running down to Haeundae Beach, so there is nothing to make a trip for — if you are staying in Haeundae you are already walking through the location. Cafés and restaurants line both sides, and Busan Tourism describes it as a street for a sea view from a café by day and the lights after dark.
- The scene
- Lee Gon and Lee Lim facing each other
- What is there now
- The busy road down to the beach
- Where it is
- Haeundae — right at the beachfront
- Add it when
- You are staying in Haeundae anyway
- Busan
Haeundae Cinema Street
Lee Gon chasing the rabbit in the first episode, and Jeong Tae-eul walking the street alone, were both shot here. It is within walking distance of Gunam-ro, so in practice the two are one stop. The seafront promenade is lined with film panels and actors' handprints, with Haeundae's towers on one side and the sea and Gwangan Bridge on the other.
- The scene
- The episode-one chase, and Tae-eul walking alone
- What is there now
- A seafront promenade of film panels and handprints
- Where it is
- Haeundae — walking distance from Gunam-ro
- Add it when
- You have already come to Gunam-ro
- Busan
Forty Stairs Street
The café where royal guard captain Jo Yeong meets communications officer Myeong Seung-ah stands on this street. The source names the street rather than the shop, so come for the stairs themselves instead of hunting for the café. They are also a Korean War refugee site, which gives them a weight that has nothing to do with the drama.
- The scene
- The street the café scene sits on
- What is there now
- Refugee-era stairs and their monument
- Where it is
- Jung-gu — between Busan Station and Nampo-dong
- Add it when
- You are walking the old city centre
BusanDadaepo Beach
The beach where Lee Gon rides the white horse. Busan Tourism presents it as a moment fans remember, but it is also the one at the far south-western corner — the opposite end of the city from Haeundae. The beach is known for its sunsets, so if you are making the trip, time it for the end of the day.
- The scene
- Lee Gon riding the white horse
- What is there now
- A wide sand beach known for its sunsets
- Where it is
- Saha — the south-western edge of Busan
- Add it when
- You can time it for sunset
not published by the operatorSunset Fountain of Dreams Every MonFree
- Nationwide
Suwon Hallim Library
The library Suwon City names as a location for this drama. It does not appear on Visit Busan's list at all — only on Suwon's own drama-location course. It is in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province — far from the Busan five, so it belongs to a different trip entirely and is only worth planning around if you are going to Suwon anyway.
- The scene
- The library Suwon names as a location
- What is there now
- A working municipal library
- Where it is
- Suwon, Gyeonggi — a different region from Busan
- Add it when
- You had separate reason to be in Suwon
Frequently asked questions
Can I do the five Busan locations in one day?
Not comfortably. They are all inside Busan, but Ahopsan Forest in Gijang and Dadaepo Beach in Saha sit at opposite ends of the city and the journey between just those two eats the day. The two Haeundae locations connect on foot and Forty Stairs is on the metro, so the realistic plan is Haeundae plus the old centre, and then one of Ahopsan or Dadaepo, not both.
Which one should I go to first?
If the drama is why you came to Busan, Ahopsan Forest. Busan Tourism names it as the location the series uses most often, and the tall bamboo and the stone gate among it are still there. If you are instead fitting locations around an ordinary Busan trip, the two Haeundae streets need no extra travel and are the easier choice.
Why is a library in Suwon on this list?
Because Suwon City names it as a location for this drama on its own drama-location course. Visit Busan does not list it. The source is different and so is the region — Suwon is far from Busan — so do not think of it as part of the same trip as the Busan five.
Does it matter when I go to Dadaepo?
You can go at any time, but this particular frame depends on the light. What makes the white-horse scene is the wide sand and the low sun, and Dadaepo is known for its sunsets in the first place. Given how long it takes to reach the south-western corner of the city, time it for the end of the day if you go at all.
Are there any sets or markers?
None. All six are places in ordinary use and nothing was built for the production. Ahopsan Forest is woodland one family has kept privately, so check whether it is open and on what terms, and Suwon Hallim Library is a working public library, so look without getting in the way of the people using it.
Nearby Food
Travel Guides
Related articles
Last verified: