The recent success of the drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, starring IU and Park Bo-gum, not only ranked in Netflix’s Top 10 for nine straight weeks, but also sparked a global interest in Jeju’s landscapes and slower pace of life. While the drama was airing, Google searches for “Jeju travel” went up by 30%, hotels in Seogwipo reported a booking spike of 4–5%, and filming locations from the drama were flooded with fans.
Now, that momentum is turning into something even bigger. On May 16, 2025, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province made history by teaming up with Netflix through a one-year official partnership. It’s the first of its kind in South Korea and will support more filming on the island, encourage collaboration with local creators, provide funding, and make it easier for productions to settle in. It’s a meaningful moment that signals Jeju’s growing role in the future of Korean storytelling, one that resonates deeply with global audiences.
And for Korean drama fans, this news isn’t just about more shows being set on the island. It’s about deepening the connection between the stories we love and the places where they come to life. At Noona’s Noonchi, we’ve already been exploring that connection through our Jeju + Seoul K-Drama Healing Tours. From When Life Gives You Tangerines to Welcome to Samdal-ri, we visit the real filming locations where the most moving moments were captured. So, with more productions in the works, the list of spots we explore may grow even longer.
"When Life Gives You Tangerines" filming location: Jeju-mok Government Office
The filming location for all your favorite High School K-Dramas (and probably the place that has seen the most love letter confessions ever in the entire K-Drama history).
"Welcome to Samdal-ri" filming location: Cho Sam-dal's (Shin Hye-sun) family house
Not just that, imagine joining our Jeju tour and standing in the exact place where next year’s favorite drama couple falls in love — way before the rest of the world even sees it. That’s the kind of magic this partnership could bring. Jeju is no longer just a backdrop. It’s becoming a character in its own right. And for those of us who travel to feel, not just to see, that’s something worth getting excited about.
FAQs
When Life Gives You Tangerines and Welcome to Samdal-ri are two of the most notable, both drawing fans to the island’s real filming spots. Jeju-mok Government Office appears in Tangerines, while Cho Sam-dal’s family house from Samdal-ri has become its own pilgrimage site for fans.
Yes. Samdal-ri itself is a real village on Jeju Island, and the drama Welcome to Samdal-ri used it as inspiration for its setting. Fans can actually visit Cho Sam-dal’s family house, one of the show’s key filming locations.
The Jeju-mok Government Office is one of its most recognizable filming locations, tied to some of the drama’s most emotional high school scenes. The show’s popularity was so strong that Google searches for “Jeju travel” rose 30% while it was airing.
On May 16, 2025, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province signed a first-of-its-kind, one-year partnership with Netflix to support more filming on the island. It’s meant to fund productions, encourage local creator collaboration, and make it easier for shows to base themselves there, building on the momentum from When Life Gives You Tangerines.
