Finding real Squid Game filming locations in Korea is more complicated than searching for a list of famous scenes. Some sequences were filmed in public stations, traditional markets, amusement areas, and real neighborhoods, while the giant game arenas were created inside controlled production facilities.
That distinction matters when planning a fan trip. A location may appear on a filming-location list but still be private property, inaccessible to visitors, significantly changed, or located far from central Seoul. This guide focuses on practical places connected with the series while explaining which locations should not be approached as ordinary tourist attractions.
Operating hours, admission fees, transportation routes, and access conditions may change. Search the Korean place name in Naver Map or KakaoMap and check the venue’s official website or social media before traveling.
Important: Verify Before You Visit
Filming-location information is often copied between unofficial websites. Confirm the current place name, access rules, business status, and scene connection before adding a location to your itinerary.
1. Squid Game Filming Locations at a Glance
The most practical Squid Game fan stops are everyday places rather than the enormous game sets seen in the competition scenes. Stations, markets, amusement facilities, and public streets can often be viewed without joining a tour, but visitors still need to respect normal local activity.
| Location |
Area |
Location Type |
Typical Access |
Main Caution |
| Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station |
Seoul |
Public subway station |
Public areas during operating hours |
Do not block passengers |
| Let'sRun Park Seoul |
Gwacheon |
Horse-racing venue |
Subject to venue schedule |
Check admission and race days |
| Baegun Market |
Northern Seoul |
Traditional market |
Public market lanes |
Respect vendors and customers |
| Wolmi Theme Park |
Incheon |
Amusement area |
Depends on current operations |
Confirm ride and venue status |
| Island and studio sets |
Various regions |
Restricted production sites |
Generally not public attractions |
Do not attempt unauthorized entry |
Access descriptions in this table are general planning notes, not guarantees. A public place can still have temporary closures, event restrictions, construction, or photography rules.
2. Real Location or Studio Set?
Many viewers hope to visit the staircase maze, the giant dormitory, the glass bridge, or the field used for Red Light, Green Light. Those spaces were designed as controlled production sets rather than permanent public attractions.
The locations that work best for an independent trip are the ordinary places surrounding the characters’ lives before and after the games. These include public transportation facilities, commercial venues, markets, and neighborhoods. They may look less dramatic in person, but they reveal how familiar Korean spaces were used to create the world outside the competition.
Use three checks before accepting an online claim:
- Is there a reliable scene comparison or production reference?
- Does the current place still resemble the filming-period appearance?
- Is the area legally and safely accessible to ordinary visitors?
Important: Do Not Enter Restricted Production Areas
Do not cross fences, gates, warning signs, construction boundaries, studio entrances, industrial areas, or private roads in an attempt to recreate a scene. A filming site is not automatically a public tourist attraction.
3. Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station
Korean name: 양재시민의숲역
Area: Seocho-gu, Seoul
Map search: Enter 양재시민의숲역 in Naver Map or KakaoMap.
Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station is commonly associated with the recruitment sequence in which the mysterious salesman approaches Gi-hun and introduces the paper-tile game known as ddakji. The scene is memorable because an ordinary station platform becomes the first step toward the hidden competition.
This is an active public transportation facility, not a themed attraction. Station layouts, signs, platform barriers, advertisements, and nearby fixtures may have changed since filming. Compare structural elements rather than expecting every background detail to remain identical.
Practical Visit Notes
- Access: Public station areas are generally accessible during subway operating hours.
- Admission: A valid transit fare is required for areas beyond the ticket gates.
- Best time: Avoid weekday commuting hours if you want to look at the platform without obstructing passengers.
- Photography: Use a phone or small camera and remain behind all platform safety lines.
- Nearby stop: Yangjae Citizen's Forest can be combined with a walk in the surrounding park area.
Important: Active Subway Station
Do not stage games, lie on the floor, use large equipment, or block escalators and platform doors. Passenger movement and station safety always take priority over photography.
4. Let'sRun Park Seoul
Korean name: 렛츠런파크 서울
Area: Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do
Map search: Enter 렛츠런파크 서울 in a Korean map app.
Let'sRun Park Seoul is linked with the horse-racing sequence that establishes Gi-hun’s financial habits and unstable situation. It is a functioning racing venue rather than a permanent Squid Game exhibition.
The venue can be more time-sensitive than a station or public street. Opening days, admission conditions, age-related rules, event schedules, and access to specific seating areas may change. Check the official Korea Racing Authority information before traveling.
Practical Visit Notes
- Nearest transit: Seoul Racecourse Park Station is the main subway access point normally associated with the venue.
- Visit status: Entry depends on the current operating calendar and venue policies.
- Admission: Confirm the current fee and identification requirements on the official website.
- Best time: Visit during an officially announced opening period rather than assuming daily access.
- Photography: Follow venue rules, especially around spectators, staff, betting areas, and restricted facilities.
Important: Confirm the Operating Schedule
Opening days, race schedules, admission rules, and access zones may change. Verify the latest information through the official venue before making a special trip.
5. Baegun Market and Neighborhood Scenes
Korean name: 백운시장
Area: Gangbuk-gu, Seoul
Map search: Enter 백운시장 in Naver Map or KakaoMap and confirm the current market listing.
The market and surrounding northern Seoul neighborhoods are associated with the everyday world of Gi-hun and Sang-woo. These scenes help explain the characters’ relationships, family pressures, debt, and social background before the story returns to the competition.
A traditional market is a working commercial space. Stalls may change ownership, signs may be replaced, and individual businesses seen during filming may no longer operate in the same form. The most respectful way to visit is to explore the market as a customer rather than treating vendors as part of a film set.
Practical Visit Notes
- Access: Public market lanes can usually be explored during normal business activity.
- Admission: No general admission fee is normally expected for entering a public market.
- Best time: Late morning or early afternoon offers a better balance between active stalls and manageable foot traffic.
- Photography: Ask before photographing a vendor, customer, stall interior, or displayed merchandise at close range.
- What to do: Buying a snack or meal supports the businesses that keep the market active.
Important: Working Market and Residential Area
Keep passageways clear, avoid photographing people without permission, and do not enter residential alleys, homes, storage areas, or private business spaces. Visit during daytime and keep noise low.
6. Wolmi Theme Park
Korean name: 월미테마파크
Area: Wolmi-do, Incheon
Map search: Enter 월미테마파크 and check the latest listing before departure.
Wolmi Theme Park is commonly included in Squid Game fan-location lists because of an early sequence connected with Gi-hun and his daughter. The wider Wolmi-do area combines amusement facilities, waterfront views, restaurants, and casual entertainment.
The appearance and operation of individual machines, rides, shops, and indoor spaces may change over time. Even when the overall venue remains open, the exact filming detail a fan expects to see may have been moved or replaced.
Practical Visit Notes
- Nearest major transit point: Incheon Station is commonly used for onward travel to Wolmi-do.
- Final connection: Local buses, taxis, or other current local transport may be needed from the station area.
- Admission: Access and ride costs depend on the current operating system.
- Best time: Late afternoon allows visitors to combine the amusement area with sunset or evening waterfront views.
- Nearby places: Wolmi Culture Street and the waterfront can make the trip worthwhile even if a specific filming detail has changed.
Important: Confirm Current Status
Ride schedules, business hours, admission systems, and individual game facilities may change. Check recent official notices and current map reviews before traveling from Seoul.
7. Island and Production Set Locations
The island, dormitory, staircase maze, playground, tug-of-war platform, glass bridge, and other competition spaces create the visual identity of Squid Game. However, the finished screen world combines constructed sets, controlled facilities, visual effects, and carefully selected exterior imagery.
A distant island associated with exterior production does not automatically have public ferry service or visitor facilities. Likewise, a studio named in a production report may still be an active workplace with strict entry controls.
Fans should not book private boats, approach restricted shorelines, enter industrial compounds, or arrive at studio gates without an officially announced visitor program. These actions can create safety problems and interfere with private operations.
Important: Not Public Tourist Attractions
Production studios, private islands, temporary sets, and controlled filming compounds should be treated as inaccessible unless an official tour, exhibition, or public program explicitly permits entry.
A safer alternative is to look for officially licensed exhibitions, temporary pop-up events, museum displays, or promotional experiences. These events may recreate costumes and game environments without encouraging access to private filming property.
8. How to Plan Your Route
The locations in this guide are spread across Seoul, Gwacheon, and Incheon. Trying to visit every place in one day can turn a fan trip into several hours of transfers with little time at each destination.
Option One: Seoul Public-Transit Route
Combine Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station with another southern Seoul destination. Treat the station as a brief stop rather than the focus of an entire day. Continue to a park, museum, shopping area, or neighborhood that matches your wider Seoul itinerary.
Option Two: Northern Seoul Market Route
Plan Baegun Market as part of a northern Seoul neighborhood day. Allow time to eat, observe normal market life, and walk only through clearly public areas. This route is better for travelers interested in the characters’ everyday environment than dramatic game-set imagery.
Option Three: Gwacheon Visit
Visit Let'sRun Park Seoul only after confirming its official opening schedule. Combine it with another Gwacheon attraction so the day remains useful if access conditions or event plans change.
Option Four: Incheon Day Trip
Wolmi-do works better as a full Incheon outing than as a quick detour. Add the waterfront, local restaurants, and another Incheon attraction instead of traveling solely for one filming reference.
| Route |
Best For |
Suggested Time |
Planning Note |
| Southern Seoul |
Easy subway stop |
One to two hours with nearby activities |
Avoid commuter periods |
| Northern Seoul |
Market and neighborhood atmosphere |
Half day |
Visit as a customer, not a film crew |
| Gwacheon |
Horse-racing sequence |
Half day or longer |
Official schedule check is essential |
| Incheon |
Amusement area and waterfront |
Most of a day |
Allow extra transfer time |
9. Photography and Visitor Etiquette
Squid Game fans often want to reproduce a camera angle or pose from the series. This is usually manageable in an open public area when the group is small, the equipment is simple, and pedestrian movement is not interrupted.
The situation changes when a photo requires standing in a roadway, blocking a subway platform, entering a shop without buying anything, photographing residents’ homes, or crossing a private boundary. In those cases, the scene should not be recreated.
- Stay behind station safety lines and follow staff instructions.
- Ask permission before photographing vendors or business interiors.
- Do not photograph residents, windows, or private courtyards.
- Keep tripods, lights, costume groups, and commercial shoots away from narrow public passages.
- Do not use toy weapons or realistic props in stations, markets, or crowded areas.
- Do not leave paper tiles, stickers, cards, or other fan items behind.
- Leave immediately when staff, security personnel, residents, or business owners ask you to stop.
The best fan photographs often come from observing recognizable architecture and framing the location naturally. A respectful image is more valuable than an exact recreation that disrupts people using the space.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Can I visit the Squid Game dormitory and game arenas?
The major competition spaces were controlled production sets rather than ordinary public attractions. Do not assume that a studio or set location allows visitor entry unless an official public program is announced.
Is the island from Squid Game open to tourists?
An island associated with exterior filming should not be treated as a public destination without verified transport, landing permission, and visitor information. Do not arrange unauthorized access or approach restricted shoreline areas.
Which location is easiest to visit by subway?
Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station is the simplest type of stop because it is part of Seoul’s public transportation network. It should still be visited outside peak commuting periods.
Can I visit all the locations in one day?
It is technically possible to pass through several areas, but it is not an efficient sightseeing plan. Seoul, Gwacheon, and Incheon should usually be separated into different routes.
Do I need a guided tour?
A guide is not normally necessary for public stations, markets, or amusement districts. However, a reputable tour can help with transportation and scene context when it uses only legal, publicly accessible stops.
Are the locations free to visit?
Public streets and markets generally do not have an entrance fee, but transportation fares still apply. Commercial venues, racing facilities, rides, exhibitions, and special events may charge admission or require a separate ticket.
How can I confirm the correct location?
Search the Korean place name in Naver Map or KakaoMap, compare recent visitor photographs, and check official operating information. Do not rely only on an old English-language blog post or a reposted social media caption.
A successful Squid Game filming-location trip is not about reaching every place connected with production. It is about choosing accessible locations, understanding their real function, and visiting without disrupting the people who live and work there.
