Sunshine Studio Nonsan

In Yeonmu-eup, Nonsan, Sunshine Studio was built as the set for the 2018 tvN drama Mr. Sunshine. On a site of about 20,000 m² (6,000 pyeong) it recreates the streets of Hanseong, as Seoul was then called, in the early 1900s of the Korean Empire, and it is now a drama theme park you can wander through. Pachinko and Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 have since been filmed here too.

Hanseong at the turn of the century

Nonsan City provided the land and infrastructure, while the drama's producer Hwa&Dam Pictures and SBS A&T invested in the set. Five Western-style modern buildings, 19 tile-roofed houses, four thatched houses and nine Japanese-style houses stand together like a real neighbourhood. Tiled alleys and thatched cottages, a main street with a tram, a Western hotel and company offices all share one neighbourhood, so you can walk through an era when tradition and modernity collided.

What to see

• Glory Hotel: a key setting of the drama. A ground-floor screening room shows highlights and props from Mr. Sunshine, and the first floor has a café, Gabaejeong.
• Hanseong Electric: a reconstruction of the building of Korea's first electric company, with an exhibition on the history behind the drama and a gift shop.
• Clothing shop (Yangpumjeom): a reconstruction of the Wonsubu, the Korean Empire's military command, displaying actors' costumes and renting out period clothes.
• Daeanmun Gate and Bosingak: replicas of Daeanmun, the main gate of Deoksugung Palace in the Korean Empire era, and of the Bosingak bell pavilion on Jongno.
• Jongno Street and the tram: a period shopping street with a stationery shop and a herbal pharmacy, and an old tram standing in the road.
• Dongmae's house and the French bakery: Japanese-style houses used as filming locations; Dongmae's house also appeared in the variety show The Great Escape 3.
• Tailor's shop: a filming location of Pachinko.
• See You Again Garden: a small memorial garden for the Righteous Army volunteers.

Dress up and stroll

The most fun way to see the place is to rent period clothes at the clothing shop and walk the streets in them. Photo spots marked with famous lines from the drama are dotted around the alleys and in front of the modern buildings. The special exhibition room changes its shows regularly.

Know the drama, enjoy the set

Mr. Sunshine follows the son of a slave who leaves Joseon aboard an American warship during the 1871 US expedition and returns as a US Marine officer. In Hanseong in the last years of the Korean Empire, his life becomes entangled with a noblewoman secretly fighting in the Righteous Army, the heir of a wealthy aristocratic family, a butcher's son who became a ronin in Japan and the owner of the Glory Hotel, against the backdrop of a country slipping away. The Glory Hotel, the streets of Hanseong and Dongmae's house were their stage, which is also why the See You Again Garden honours the Righteous Army.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:30.
• Closed: every Wednesday. If a Wednesday is a public holiday it opens, and the substitute closing day is announced on the website and social media.
• Admission: adults KRW 10,000, teenagers KRW 8,000, children and seniors KRW 6,000; under 36 months free. Tickets are sold on site only, with no advance booking. Group discounts (20+) apply on weekdays only.
• Time needed: about 1 hour at an adult's pace; allow 2 hours if you rent costumes for photos.
• Getting there: the address is 90 Bonghwang-ro, Yeonmu-eup, Nonsan. It lies about 10 km from central Nonsan, so a car is easiest; parking is free.
• Good to know: pets are not allowed (guide dogs excepted). Snacks and packed lunches are fine, but cooking is not. Udon, bread and drinks are sold inside.
• Best time: the visit is almost entirely outdoors, so spring, autumn or the late afternoon are more pleasant than a midsummer midday.