Skip to main content
Mapped Chronicles

Movies

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: The Pohang Coast

The fictional seaside village of Gongjin in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is Pohang, South Korea: Cheongha Market, the village of Cheongjin-ri, Sabang Memorial Park and the Seokbyeong-ri lighthouse.

Mapped by Mapped Chronicles editors5 locationsCountries: South KoreaGPX

#k-drama#filming-locations#pohang#south-korea#hometown-cha-cha-cha

Timeline & locations

What do the location labels mean?
Exact
The pin marks the actual place where it happened or was filmed.
Approximate
The right area — a town, park or district — but not a precise spot.

  1. Yoon Hye-jin, an accomplished dentist from Seoul, goes to the idyllic seaside village of Gongjin on her late mother's birthday after her life goes awry. In the series Gongjin Market is Cheongha Market in Pohang, originally a quiet hub of 25 shops operating on a five-day cycle. Crews began building sets here on 5 June. After the show it was rebranded Cheongha Gongjin Market, and permanent sets remain, including the Squid Statue, Bora Supermarket and the "Coffee by Day, Beer by Night" café.

    Open inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Visitor guidance: Open market in Cheongha-myeon; the Squid Statue and the other sets stand in the market lanes.

    Sources

  2. Hye-jin spontaneously decides to open a dental clinic in Gongjin, and the story of the village grows from there. The set was at Cheongjin-ri, at the beach. Today the former Yoon Dental Clinic set operates as a restaurant called Yoon's Clinic, which keeps the drama's original decor, so a meal here comes with the drama's own look.

    Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Location precision: The pin marks Cheongjin-ri village; the exact building is not given in the sources.

    Visitor guidance: The restaurant Yoon's Clinic is in Cheongjin-ri; nearby homes are private.

    Sources

  3. Hong Du-sik, the jack-of-all-trades known as Chief Hong, has a boat that now sits on the mountain Mugeunbong in Sabang Memorial Park, Heunghae-eup, in Pohang's Buk District. The boat became the park's star attraction: according to the city's tourism team, daily visitors rose from 500 on holidays to between 3,000 and 4,000 after the series aired, as filming locations became a frequent addition to travel itineraries.

    Open inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Visitor guidance: Sabang Memorial Park, Heunghae-eup, is a public park.

    Sources

  4. On the Seokbyeong-ri lighthouse and its coastal embankment in Guryongpo, Hye-jin confessed her feelings to Du-sik. The spot has since become a popular photo spot for couples. Pohang made it part of a tourist course linking the drama's filming sites, installing signboards and photo spots so visitors can find the scenes, alongside Cheongha Market, Cheongjin-ri and Sabang Memorial Park.

    Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Location precision: The pin marks Seokbyeong-ri village; the sources do not give the lighthouse's exact spot.

    Visitor guidance: A coastal embankment in Seokbyeong-ri, Guryongpo.

    Sources

  5. The route leaves the coast for one scene. In episode 12, the Chang Ucchin Museum of Art in Yangju appears as one of the dating spots of Du-sik and Hye-jin. After the episode aired, officials noted a rise in inquiries about the museum, with viewers drawn to its unique architecture and natural surroundings.

    Open inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Visitor guidance: A museum in Yangju; check opening hours before visiting.

    Sources

Spotted a mistake?

Places close, sources disagree, and we get things wrong. If something on this route is off, tell us and we'll fix it.

Suggest a correction

More in Movies

Browse Movies
MoviesApproximate

Itaewon Class: Park Sae-ro-yi's Seoul

Itaewon Class is set in Seoul's Itaewon, where ex-convict Park Sae-ro-yi opens the DanBam bar, and its real filming spots include SEOUL BAM, the Noksapyeong Overpass and Namsan Park. The route follows six places where scenes of the 2020 series were shot, from the guesthouse where the leads first meet to the graffiti wall where they take pictures at the end. Some pins mark only a street, as noted at each stop.

6 locations6/6 visitable
MoviesApproximate

Winter Sonata: Nami Island and Chuncheon

Winter Sonata, the 2002 Korean drama that started the second wave of the Korean Wave, was filmed primarily on Nami Island in Chuncheon, with more scenes at Yongpyong Resort and on the Oedo garden island. Its tale of a first love lost to amnesia sends you to a lakeside city and a snowy ski slope. The route follows Joon-sang and Yoo-jin from their school days in Chuncheon through Nami Island, Jungdo and Chuam Beach, then ten years on to Yongpyong and the finale at Oedo. Two stops are unpinned: the sources name them without an exact spot.

6 locations4/6 visitable
MoviesApproximate

Hero: From Hengdian to Jiuzhaigou

Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002) was shot at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, near old Dunhuang in the desert, at Arrow Bamboo Lake and Nuorilang Falls in Jiuzhaigou, and in an autumn oak grove in Inner Mongolia. The route follows the film from the Qin king's palace to the calligraphy school, the golden-leaf duel, the lake fight and the waterfall. Two stops are unpinned: the sources name the desert location and the oak grove only by area.

5 locations3/5 visitable
All routes