There's a scene in the first episode where Yoon Hye-jin steps out of a car and looks out at the ocean for the first time. The village is quiet. The sea is right there. The air feels different from Seoul. It's the kind of moment where you think — where is this place, and how do I get there?
That place is Pohang. And yes, you can go.
The fictional village of Gongjin in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha was filmed almost entirely in Pohang, a coastal city on Korea's eastern shoreline in North Gyeongsang Province. The drama aired on tvN in 2021, hit Netflix globally, and became one of the year's biggest international hits — the picturesque seaside setting captured hearts worldwide just as much as the chemistry between Shin Min-a and Kim Seon-ho. What followed was a wave of fan tourism that the production team didn't fully anticipate. The filming locations became so popular that tvN actually had to issue a warning for visitors.
Three years later, the locations are still there. Still real. Still worth visiting.
Why Pohang Works as Gongjin
Like the fictional Gongjin Village, Pohang City is a peaceful seaside hamlet with a constant view of the ocean and mountains. It's also genuinely underrated as a travel destination — most foreign visitors head straight to Seoul, Busan, or Jeju and never make it to the east coast. That's exactly what makes Pohang feel like a discovery.
The city is known for POSCO, one of Korea's largest steel companies, but the neighborhood where the drama was filmed — Cheongha-myeon, specifically around Minam-ri — couldn't feel further from industrial Korea. It's fishing boats, old wooden buildings, a small market, and the sea always visible at the end of every road.
You can reach Pohang from Seoul via express bus in about 3.5 to 4 hours. KTX gets you there in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Either way, it's an easy overnight trip or a long day trip from the capital.
The Key Filming Locations — Scene by Scene
1. Wolpo Beach — Where the Story Begins
Wolpo Beach was the filming location depicted in the first episode, specifically where Yoon Hye-jin went for a walk and her shoes were pulled by the waves and became entangled in Hong Doo-shik's surfboard. It's essentially the scene that sets everything in motion.
Wolpo Beach is an under-the-radar diving and fishing spot with clean, shallow seas and a relaxed atmosphere. Not a resort beach. Not a tourist beach. Just a quiet stretch of coast that feels exactly like the drama — unhurried, a little windswept, completely unpretentious.
Address: Wolpo-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang-si
2. Igari Anchor Observatory — The Most Iconic View
This is the landmark you'll see in every Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha travel post, and for good reason. The Igari Anchor Observatory is one of the key stops on every fan tour of the drama's filming locations. A giant anchor installation sits on a cliff overlooking the sea — it became a symbol of the show's coastal identity.
The views from up here are genuinely spectacular. Ocean on one side, mountains behind you.
Address: Igari-gil, Cheongha-myeon, Buk-gu, Pohang-si
3. Sabang Memorial Park — The Boat on the Hill
One of the first spots in the drama is Mugeunbong Peak at Sabang Memorial Park, where a sole wooden ship overlooks a mountainous landscape and the sea. This is also the site of one of the first encounters between Yoon Hye-jin and Hong Doo-shik.
The hike to reach the boat takes roughly 20 minutes via the stairs, or longer by the alternate route. The view from the top is spectacular — you can see both the mountains and the sea together. If you visit in autumn, you'll also see gorgeous Korean fall colors. The boat on the hill should still be there — it's one of the permanent sights left from the filming.
4. Bora Supermarket & The Village Streets — The Heart of Gongjin
The hardware store at 384-8 Minam-ri, Cheongha-myeon, Buk-gu, Pohang — depicted in the series with its hand-painted window lettering and props hanging on wire mesh — is still intact and recognizable. There's a chair on the deck where visitors can take photos.
The Bora Supermarket, the village hall, Hye-jin's dental clinic, Chief Hong's house — most of these are concentrated in the Cheongha Minam-ri area, meaning you can walk between them in under 30 minutes. This is where you'll want to spend the most time. Take it slowly. The whole charm of Gongjin was its pace, and the real locations reward that same unhurried approach.
Core address for navigation: 384-8 Minam-ri, Cheongha-myeon, Buk-gu, Pohang-si
5. Cheongha Market — The Local Heartbeat
The real-life Cheongha Market is a small area that probably isn't the first thing visitors think of in Pohang, since the larger and more famous Jukdo Market gets more attention. That's exactly why it's worth going. Less crowded, more local, and you'll recognize the market scenes from the drama immediately.
The squid statue mentioned in other guides has become something of an unofficial fan landmark — it stayed long after filming wrapped.
Personal Take #1
I'll be upfront: I didn't expect to care that much about the filming locations before I looked into this properly. I watched Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha the way most people did — as a comfort drama, something to have on in the evening. But going through the actual places in Pohang, I started to understand why fans make the trip.
The drama works so hard to make Gongjin feel real — not a set, not a backdrop, but an actual place with its own logic and rhythms. And the reason it feels real is because it is real. Pohang isn't performing coastal charm for tourists. It just is what it is. That honesty is what the show captured, and it's what you get when you go.
How to Plan Your Visit
Getting there:
- KTX: Seoul Suseo → Pohang, approximately 2 hours 10 minutes. Most convenient option.
- Express bus: Seoul Central City Terminal → Pohang, 3.5–4 hours. Cheaper but longer.
- From Pohang city center to Cheongha-myeon, it's about 40–50 minutes by local bus or taxi.
How much time do you need: A focused fan tour of the main Minam-ri locations takes half a day. Add Wolpo Beach and Sabang Memorial Park and you're looking at a full day. An overnight stay lets you catch the coastal light in the morning, which is worth it.
Best time to visit: Spring (April–May) and autumn (September–November) for comfortable weather and the best landscape colors. Summer is fine but busy. Winter gives you the moody, quiet atmosphere that actually matches the slower parts of the drama.
Personal Take #2: If you're planning a trip to Gyeongju — one of Korea's most visited historical destinations — Pohang is only about 30 minutes away by bus. The combination makes a lot of sense: Gyeongju for history and temples in the morning, Pohang for the coastal drama locations in the afternoon. It's an easy two-for-one that not enough people think to do.
What Pohang Has Beyond the Drama
Even if you've never seen Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Pohang deserves a visit. The city's seafood is exceptional — hwaeori (spicy raw fish salad) is a local specialty you won't find prepared this way anywhere else in Korea. The Pohang area also features rustic neighborhoods with Japanese-era architecture, historical traces of migrant settlement visible in old wooden houses and shrine structures.
Yeongil Daeyo Bridge, one of Korea's longest cable-stayed bridges, opened in 2021 and has become a landmark in its own right. The Bukbu Beach area in central Pohang has good cafes and restaurants. And the whole east coast feels genuinely different from the Seoul corridor — slower, saltier, less photographed.
Personal Take #3: The honest truth about fan tourism is that the real locations rarely match the drama exactly — different lighting, missing props, buildings that have changed. But Pohang's Minam-ri is one of the exceptions where the gap between screen and reality is unusually small. The streets look like the drama because they are the drama. That's rarer than you'd think, and it's the thing that makes the trip feel worth it rather than just checking a box.
3 Key Takeaways
- The fictional village of Gongjin is located in Cheongha-myeon, Pohang — a coastal city on Korea's east coast in North Gyeongsang Province, reachable from Seoul in approximately 2 hours by KTX. The core filming locations in Minam-ri are walkable from each other in under 30 minutes.
- Five locations form the essential fan itinerary: Wolpo Beach (first episode), Igari Anchor Observatory (iconic view), Sabang Memorial Park boat (first encounter scene), Minam-ri village streets including the hardware store and Bora Supermarket, and Cheongha Market.
- Pohang pairs naturally with Gyeongju — only 30 minutes apart, making a combined east coast trip one of the most efficient ways to see both Korea's most historically rich city and one of its most beloved drama locations in a single journey.
FAQ: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Filming Locations
Q: Where exactly was Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha filmed? A: The drama was filmed primarily in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on Korea's eastern coast. The main village scenes were shot in Cheongha-myeon, specifically around Minam-ri — the area that stood in for the fictional Gongjin Village. The core filming address is 384-8 Minam-ri, Cheongha-myeon, Buk-gu, Pohang-si.
Q: Can you still visit the filming locations? A: Yes — most of the main locations are publicly accessible. The Minam-ri village streets, hardware store exterior, Wolpo Beach, Igari Anchor Observatory, and Sabang Memorial Park are all visitable. Some interior locations (clinic interiors, house interiors) were sets or private properties and can't be entered, but the exterior landmarks that appear throughout the drama remain intact.
Q: How do I get from Seoul to the Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha filming locations? A: Take KTX from Seoul Suseo Station to Pohang Station (approximately 2 hours 10 minutes), then a local bus or taxi from Pohang city center to Cheongha-myeon (about 40–50 minutes). Total travel time from central Seoul to the filming locations is around 3 to 3.5 hours.
Q: Is there a guided tour of the filming locations? A: Yes — private taxi charter tours operate from Pohang city that take you to the main filming locations including Yoon's Dental Clinic, Chief Hong's house, Bora Supermarket, Wolpo Beach, and the Igari Anchor Observatory. Tour duration is typically 7–8 hours. English assistance is available through the tour operator even if the driver isn't English-speaking.
Q: What else is there to do near Pohang? A: Gyeongju — Korea's ancient capital and one of the country's most important UNESCO heritage sites — is about 30 minutes from Pohang by bus or taxi. Combining a Pohang filming location visit with a Gyeongju day trip is one of the most popular east coast Korea itineraries. Pohang itself also has good seafood, Japanese-era architecture, and the Yeongil Daeyo Bridge as additional sights.
Conclusion
Gongjin isn't real. But Pohang is — and it turns out that's enough.
The east coast village where Yoon Hye-jin lost her shoes, where Hong Doo-shik seemed to do everything for everyone, where life moved at a pace that Seoul had long forgotten — that village is still there, more or less, waiting in Cheongha-myeon. The ocean is the same ocean. The boat on the hill is still on the hill.
You don't have to be a K-drama superfan to make the trip worthwhile. You just have to want a side of Korea that most tourist itineraries skip entirely.
Have you visited the Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha filming locations? Or is Pohang on your list? Tell me in the comments — and if you've been, which location matched the drama most?
Explore More
- Gyeongju: Korea's Ancient Golden Kingdom Travel Guide
- Korea Hidden Gem Travel Destinations 2026
- South Korea Travel Guide: Beyond Seoul
- Korea Public Transportation Guide: Subway, Bus & T-Money
Comments
Post a Comment