Where it all started...
Backtrack to a couple of months ago when I watched "Hwayugi: a Korean odessy", I fell in love with their sets, their filming locations, and all the aesthetics in the drama. Since I'm a huge sucker for everything aesthetic and picturesque spots, I just had to find out where a particular scene took place (refer to the image below).
Upon watching this scene, I fell in love with the picturesque rocks and the icy surface of the lake... I immediately researched where the filming location was, and I realized it's actually not too far from Seoul and can be quite easy to get to (compared to some other locations).
I've made plans after plans to come to this location but, with work and random things coming up, I never got a chance to go until this past weekend. Sure, I just finished a cultural trip and came back from the South of South Korea the day before but that didn't stop me haha.
July 8th, 2018
From the title, you might have already figured out where the location is... but, if you are still confused, the place they filmed at is the "Pocheon Art Valley 포천아트밸리).
Pocheon Art Valley is not just the filming location for Hwayugi, it's also the filming location for "legend of the blue sea" and "Moonlight Lovers: Ryeo"!
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| Legend of the Blue Sea |
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| Moonlight Lovers: Ryeo |
You have two ways of getting to the Art valley that is situated on a hill, by walking or by the tram.
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| The tram is quite cute but the line up was wayyy too long for my liking. |
Being the person who prefers walking over most things, I chose walking (of course). It was a hot day, but I'm glad I brought my hat.
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| I love my bucket hat ^^ |
While walking up, I took the time to read the brochure that they have supplied us with. It's actually full of interesting information! There's an astronomical science museum for free in the art valley, and it has a planetarium and an observatory!
**Please, please read the brochure they provide you with carefully! The planetarium and observatory can only be available to you if you reserve a ticket in the lobby of the museum! Each person can reserve 4 tickets, so I ran ahead just so I can get a ticket ahhaha**
When I asked for the ticket, the girl said it will only be in Korea and I figured so it was okay. But! halfway through the show, the star names and all the labels were English... My friend and I were just laughing at how basically everything is now English.
The planetarium show ends with a virtual rollercoaster through the black hole (it was interesting and cooling since they have air coming out of tubes around your chair simulating 4D effects). After the planetarium, you have 2 options: head to the observatory or leave. We chose the observatory (obviously).
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| surrounded by high end telescopes (a dream come true) |
During the day, you can see the sunspots and at night, you can watch the stars (I want to watch stars but due to time limitation, I cannot stay for the night).
After the astronomical museum, we marched merrily towards the "famous" lake for the filming location (cheonjuho 천주호).
It was such a beaut, but it was also filled with families. I guess that is the downside of visiting on the weekend.
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| I spot with my little eyes: a photobomber |
After visiting the lake, don't just end there! You can walk around and head towards the outdoor concert platform where you can see the lake from the other side (a different perspective).
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| Hello from the other side. |
Even now, I'm still astonished by how pretty this place was and I definitely, definitely do not regret the hard work I did to get here!
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| It's a good place for portraits! |
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| I live in the south of the Korea peninsula. |
Now, on to the important part: how do you get there?
Since Pocheon is a little bit over an hour away from Seoul center, it can be quite hard to get to if you don't know how to navigate the Korean bus system (Maybe this is why most of the tourists here were Korean, I think my friend and I were the only foreigners).
On our way there, we decided to take the subway and transfer to a bus. From the directions I see on various sites, many people advise taking the subway to Uijeonbu station, then transferring to a bus until you arrive at "giji-2-ri 기치2리 신복면 사무소". From there you can take another bus or just walk 20 minutes (yes, I walked 20 minutes).
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| The beautiful view at Uijeongbu station |
I thought my friend and I would take the same way back but nope, we took bus #3000 back. Turns out it was an intercity bus, you go on the bus and the driver would ask where you would like to go. We said Dong Seoul Terminal and he punched in the price for our ticket (₩6,900).
The intercity is definitely more expensive but it was easier. The subway cost us (₩2,450) but it was tiring since it required many many transfers. However, it is all up to you how you would like to get to the art valley.
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