Suncheon Open Film Set

Built in 2006 and expanded since, this is one of the largest permanent film sets in Korea - about two hundred buildings across three zones representing distinct periods and places: a 1950s hillside settlement of tin-roofed shacks stacked up a slope, a 1960s to 70s provincial town with a barber shop, photo studio, cinema and railway crossing, and an approximation of a 1980s Seoul alley including a recreated Bongcheon-dong neighbourhood. Dozens of films and dramas have shot here. Interiors are dressed rather than empty, so shops have stock on the shelves and homes have furniture, and there is a costume rental so visitors can walk it in period school uniforms, which most Korean visitors do. For anyone who has watched Korean films set in these decades it is oddly affecting; for anyone who has not it is a well-made empty town. Combine it with Suncheon Bay, which is the region's main draw.

What you actually see

• The 1950s hillside - tin-roofed shacks stacked up the slope.
• The provincial town - barber, cinema, photo studio, level crossing.
• The Seoul alley - the 1980s neighbourhood recreation.
• The dressed interiors - shops and homes furnished, not hollow.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Weekday mornings are quiet. Costume rental queues at weekends.

Honest expectations

It is a film set - nothing here is historic, and the buildings are facades with dressed interiors. Ticketed. Without knowing the films, the emotional pull is missing.

Nearby

Suncheon Bay and Naganeupseong are close; Seonamsa and Songgwangsa are inland.