I've just watched King of Baking Kim Tak Gu (제빵왕 김탁구) after Yoon Shi Yoon went on Barefooted friends (맨발의 친구들), and the lure of the filming location made me go to Cheongju!
Cheongju is about 1 hour 40 minutes away from Seoul by express bus. The good thing is that the buses leave very frequently (every 10-15 minutes) from Gangnam Express Bus Terminal!
How to get there: Take the express bus bound for Cheongju (청주) from Gangnam express bus terminal. Do note that it's the old terminal and not Central terminal. The buses at Central terminal leave infrequently.
Wondering what's the difference between the 2 terminals? Click here!
Cheongju Express Bus Terminal
The buses from the Cheongju express bus terminal leave every 10-15 minutes for the Gangnam express bus terminal. (Refer to left columns 서울 (강남)) However, there is only 1 normal bus service every hour (고속 7,700krw) (refer to timings in black) while the rest are excellence buses (우등 8,800krw).
Excellence buses - the seats are definitely more comfortable, though I personally think that the normal buses are comfortable too!
Suamgol
Palbong Bakery
Suamgol (수암골) / Filming location of Kim Tak Gu (Palbong Bakery 팔봉 빵집)
From Cheongju express bus terminal, cross the road to the Intercity bus terminal and take city bus #105 (16 stops, approx. 30 minutes) to Wooam Elementary School (우암초등학교앞). Walk about 10 minutes towards Suamgol (refer to picture below).
Cheongju city bus
Walk from the elementary school towards Suamgol for about 10 minutes
The neighbourhood was formed in the 1950s after war refugees gathered in the area. Small dwellings within narrow alleys can be found. In the mid 2000s, a group of artists and art students restored the area by introducing murals to the neighbourhood.
Jack and the beanstalk!
Painted snow surface!
Filming Locations
Suamgol is also popular due to the filming locations of Korean dramas "Cain and Abel" (카인과 아벨), "King of Baking Kim Tak Gu" and "Man of Honor" (영광의 재인).
Filming site of Man of Honor - Glory Jane
Filming site of Man of Honor - Glory Jane
I went on a weekday and the place was almost empty! The hype has probably died down too as well.
The neighbourhood is actually quite small, but there are pretty cafes overlooking the city and is a popular place for lovers and photography enthusiasts!
Palbong Bakery
This is the main filming set for Kim Tak Gu where Tak Gu learns how to make bread! Lots of Tak Gu related items on the first floor of the bakery. (:
Hand-made bread sold at the bakery.
Red bean ice (팥빙수) for a hot summer day
View from the second floor of the bakery - You can see the filming set of Man of Honor in the background.
The neighbourhood is relatively small so 1-2 hours is all you need to walk around the area and take photographs. Nevertheless, great weekday day trip for the drama lover me!
View of Cheongju city from Suamgol
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