KOREATRAVEL LIST
TravelListSeoul

Parasite Filming Locations in Seoul — Four Places, Three of Them Staircases

The four Parasite filming locations Seoul's city government published, set out by scene, by what stands there now, and by nearest station. None is an attraction: three are public stairs and one is a shop that is still trading.

Updated Sep 7, 20262 min read

Language

Doijissal Supermarket on a corner, its orange sign above an awning, fruit crates and vegetables set out on the pavement

The four Parasite locations Seoul published have one thing in common: not one of them is an attraction. Three are streets and staircases, one is a supermarket that is still trading, and none of them is signposted.

What decides the order is not what each one shows you but where you were already going. Jahamun's stairs fit a day spent walking Seochon and Buam-dong; the supermarket and the neighbourhood stairs are a minute apart and belong together; Sky Pizza is worth appending only if Noryangjin was already on your route.

A long flight of steps climbing the retaining wall beside the entrance to Jahamun Tunnel, the stone-ringed arch of the tunnel and its lit 자하문터널 sign board at the left, a building with three gabled roofs in a row above the rough stone wall, and orange flexible bollards lined up along the road in front
The Jahamun tunnel stairs
Seoul Tourism Organization Archive (Seoul Tourism Archive, KOGL Type 1)
A concrete staircase on the Ahyeon-dong hill road, a handrail down each side, descending between low brick houses to a narrow alley where two cars are parked and potted plants line the walls, the neighbourhood's tangled overhead wires and the city's high-rises beyond
Gi-taek's neighbourhood stairs, Ahyeon-dong
Seoul Tourism Organization Archive (Seoul Tourism Archive, KOGL Type 1)

They fall into three clusters

The four are scattered across Seoul, but not evenly.

Two in Mapo — Doijissal Supermarket and Gi-taek's neighbourhood stairs sit on the same stretch of Songijeong-ro, a minute's walk apart. Treat them as one stop.

One in Jongno — the Jahamun tunnel stairs are on Jahamun-ro, uphill from Gyeongbokgung station.

One in Dongjak — only Sky Pizza is south of the river. It does not group with the other three, so decide separately whether one location justifies crossing the Han.

These are neighbourhoods before they are locations

People live and work at all four. Do not block a staircase, do not point a camera at windows or doorways, and avoid early mornings and late nights. The supermarket is a functioning shop — if you are not buying something, it is better not to go in.

Save the addresses before you go

None of the four is signposted, so you cannot find them by name once you are there. Save the addresses and exit numbers to your map app first. If you would rather have the order and the travel times worked out, there is a separate half-day route.

In this list

  1. A long flight of steps climbing the retaining wall beside the entrance to Jahamun Tunnel, the stone-ringed arch of the tunnel and its lit 자하문터널 sign board at the left, a building with three gabled roofs in a row above the rough stone wall, and orange flexible bollards lined up along the road in front
    Seoul

    Jahamun Tunnel Stairs

    The first flight of the long descent the Kim family makes back to their semi-basement through the rainstorm. The film measures the distance between the two houses in stairs rather than dialogue, and this is the stretch that carries it. It is still an ordinary neighbourhood staircase, with nothing marking it.

    The scene
    The way home through the downpour
    What is there now
    Unmarked concrete steps off Jahamun-ro
    Nearest station
    Line 3, Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2, 10 min walk
    Add it when
    You are already walking Seochon or Buam-dong

    See details

  2. Doijissal Supermarket on a corner, its orange sign above an awning, fruit crates and vegetables set out on the pavement.
    Seoul

    Doijissal Supermarket

    'Woori Supermarket' in the film. Seoul calls it where Parasite begins, and it is the only one of the four still trading — which makes it the only one you should not treat as a filming location. The sign and the awning are close to what is on screen, but this is a shop the neighbourhood buys its groceries in, not a set.

    The scene
    'Woori Supermarket' — where Seoul says the film begins
    What is there now
    A working corner shop
    Nearest station
    Lines 2/5, Chungjeongno Stn Exit 6, 10 min walk
    Add it when
    You only have time for one of the four

    See details

  3. A concrete staircase on the Ahyeon-dong hill road, a handrail down each side, descending between low brick houses to a narrow alley where two cars are parked and potted plants line the walls, the neighbourhood's tangled overhead wires and the city's high-rises beyond
    Seoul

    Gi-taek's Neighbourhood Stairs

    The stairs up towards Mr. Park's house. They are a one-minute walk from the supermarket, so in practice you see the two together — and putting them side by side restores the route the film keeps travelling between the two households. It is also the spot where it is easiest to forget you are standing outside somebody's front door.

    The scene
    The stairs up to Mr. Park's house
    What is there now
    A narrow flight in a residential lane
    Nearest station
    1 min walk from Doijissal Supermarket
    Add it when
    You have come as far as the supermarket

    See details

  4. Seoul

    Sky Pizza

    'Pizza Generation', where the family folds pizza boxes. It is the only one of the four south of the Han, and it does not group with the other three — so it works best appended to a trip you were making to Noryangjin anyway. The shop and its trade may have changed since filming, so come for the lane rather than for the storefront.

    The scene
    'Pizza Generation' — where the boxes were folded
    What is there now
    A shopfront lane off Noryangjin-ro 6-gil
    Nearest station
    Lines 1/9, Noryangjin Stn Exit 6, 10 min walk
    Add it when
    You had another reason to be in Noryangjin

    See details

Frequently asked questions

Can I see all four in one day?

Yes. All four are inside Seoul, all four are on the subway, and none of them takes long to visit, so half a day is enough. They fall into three clusters, though — Jahamun in Jongno, the supermarket and stairs in Mapo, Sky Pizza in Dongjak — so plan the order north to south rather than doubling back.

Can I go inside any of them?

None of the four is a place you go inside. Three are streets and staircases, and the supermarket is a working shop, so unless you are buying something it is better not to go in. Nothing has been preserved as a set and there is no exhibition at any of them.

Can I visit the Park family house?

No. The mansion was a purpose-built set rather than a real house, and it was dismantled after filming. It does not appear among the locations Seoul published. The staircases in this list are the real streets that were used as the routes up and down to it.

Is it alright to take photographs?

Photographing from the street and the stairs is fine, but all four are neighbourhoods people live in. Do not aim at windows or doorways, do not block a staircase while you frame a shot, and avoid early mornings and late nights. At the supermarket, leave the interior and the people working there out of it.

Is there any English signage?

None. All four are ordinary places to live and work, with no plaque and no marker, and the only thing that identifies them is the address. Save the addresses and exit numbers before you set out rather than expecting to find them by name on the spot.

Share: X Facebook

Nearby Food

Travel Guides

Related articles

Last verified:

Official sources

Photo credits