Sancheong Is Korea's Most Filmed County — and Tourists Are Finally Catching On

Sancheong-gun, a county in South Gyeongsang Province, has quietly become one of the most sought-after filming locations in Korean media — not just for period dramas, but for Netflix originals, variety shows, and YouTube content. If you've watched a sweeping battlefield scene on a silver-grass plain, or a king and queen strolling a stone-walled village lane, there's a real chance it was shot here. The county's nickname is Samcheong — "three pures" — because the mountains are green, the water is clear, and the people are warm. On camera, all three read immediately.

The dramas that put Sancheong on the map read like a streaming watchlist: Mr. Sunshine (2018), The Man Who Became King (2019), Jirisan (2021), See You in My 19th Life (2023), Gyeongseong Creature (2023), and most recently the 2026 Netflix series Donggung, which has been pulling international viewers and sending them straight to travel searches. If you've been watching Donggung and wondering where those hanok courtyards and stone-wall alleys were filmed — that's Namsayedam Village.

Namsayedam Village (남사예담촌) is the anchor stop. Designated as Korea's first "most beautiful village," it runs a 3.2km earthen stone-wall path past traditional hanok homes that are registered cultural heritage sites. The atmosphere is genuinely unhurried — no theme-park reconstruction, just the actual village. The pair of "married scholar trees" (부부 회화나무) along the path have a legend attached: couples who pass through together are said to stay together for a hundred years. Cheesy? Maybe. But the trees are genuinely ancient and beautiful, and the legend is why the spot keeps appearing in romance dramas.

Hwangmaesan Mountain is the other major filming site — most recognizable from the silver-grass (억새) plains that appear in Mr. Sunshine and Jumong. In autumn the entire plateau turns a pale, windswept silver that photographs like a period-drama set without any set dressing. In spring it's covered in royal azalea (철쭉). The mountain has an accessible barrier-free trail built for visitors with mobility limitations, so the panoramic views and the Hwangmaesanseong fortress atmosphere are genuinely open to everyone.

Donguibogam Village (동의보감촌) is Korea's largest traditional medicine theme park, built around the legacy of the Joseon-era medical text Dongui Bogam. It appeared in See You in My 19th Life and has also featured in variety programs and YouTube content. The site sits at the foot of Pilbongsan and Wangsan mountains along the Baekdudaegan ridge, and offers foot-bath experiences and wellness programs. Behind the Donguijeon hall, a turtle-shaped rock called Gwigamseok is a traditional wish-making spot — it showed up in Netflix content and variety shows, and visitors still make the trip specifically for it.

Beyond the three main filming sites, Sancheong's Gyeongho River has appeared across multiple variety programs as a freshwater fishing and rafting destination, and Jirisan's Cheonwangbong peak — the highest point in the Jirisan range — is the kind of sunrise view that gets described as once-in-a-lifetime. The county has also been featured in KBS's 1 Night 2 Days, TV Joseon's Baekban Journey with Heo Young-man, and ENA's City Z Goes to the Countryside, among others.

For overseas visitors planning a Korea trip beyond Seoul, Sancheong works well as a two-day detour from Busan or as part of a slower southern-province route. The filming locations are spread across the county rather than clustered in one walkable zone, so having a car or joining a regional tour makes the most sense. Namsayedam Village is the most compact and walkable stop — start there, then move to Donguibogam Village, and save Hwangmaesan for whichever season matches your visit (spring for azaleas, autumn for silver grass). The county is actively supporting content creator visits and influencer collaborations, so expect the social-media presence around these spots to keep growing.