XO, Kitty: Filming Locations Around Seoul

Kitty lands at Incheon International Airport outside Seoul and promptly misses her shuttle to KISS, the school she has crossed the world to attend. The production didn't fake the arrival: the airport scenes were captured on location at ICN. The airport opened for business on 29 March 2001, and its arrivals hall is where the series, and this route, begin Kitty's Korean year.

Visitor guidance: Seoul's main international airport; the terminals are open to travellers.

KISS, Kitty's Seoul school, is fictional, but its look is real. Kitty's mother studied there in her junior year as the recipient of a scholarship, which is what draws Kitty to Korea. On screen the campus is played by several places: many exteriors were filmed at Kaywon University of Art and Design, while the interiors were shot at other locations around the Seoul area. The pin marks the Kaywon campus.

Visitor guidance: A working art school campus; view it from outside.

The students' welcome party in the first episode is shot at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and Kitty makes a dramatic exit from the party in Episode 2. The building was designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo and officially inaugurated on 21 March 2014. It is the centrepiece of Dongdaemun, South Korea's fashion hub, and it has a walkable park on its roofs, so you can climb onto the landmark rather than just look at it.

Visitor guidance: Public plaza in Dongdaemun; the roof park is open to walk.

Yuri's hotel magnate father owns the Han Hotel, where the family also resides. On screen, State Tower Namsan stands in for the exterior of the hotel, while some interiors were filmed at the Grand Hyatt Seoul and others in the ballroom of the Pacific Hotel. The hotel is therefore a composite: the facade you see in the series belongs to one building, but its rooms were filmed in several different places around the city.

Visitor guidance: Look at the building from the street.

Thanks to Outdoors Club president Q, the students go hiking in the fourth episode, up to Seojangdae, a monument that was originally a military command post established in the late 1700s. Its name means western command post, and it sits atop Paldalsan inside Hwaseong Fortress, which surrounds the centre of Suwon. King Jeongjo of Joseon built the fortress from 1794 to 1796, and the command post still crowns the hill.

Visitor guidance: Seojangdae sits atop Paldalsan inside Hwaseong Fortress; expect an uphill walk.

Principal Lim and Mr. Alex Finnerty share a pivotal scene on the river walk of Nodeul Island, a public island park on the Han River. The island lies under the Han River Bridge and mixes wooded areas with plazas that hold restaurants, galleries and event spaces. It was re-opened as a music-themed cultural complex, a calm detour between the busier city stops.

Visitor guidance: Public island park on the Han River; open for walks.

The end-of-term talent show was filmed at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan. The hall is a history museum, opened on 15 August 1987, that primarily focuses on the Korean independence movement of the Japanese colonial period. The series borrowed its grounds for the school's big night, so fans who make the trip also get a serious lesson in modern Korean history.

Visitor guidance: History museum in Cheonan; plan a separate day trip from Seoul.