Most of the games were filmed on closed studio sets — but Gi-hun's world is real Seoul, and two spots are easy subway rides.
The game arena was a closed studio set. Baekun Market and Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station are public Seoul stops; Gi-hun's home is private and the former experience centre has closed. Check current market redevelopment before travelling.
The market in Gi-hun and Sang-woo's neighbourhood. The one shop Korean sources pin down is Paldo Geoneomul, the dried-fish stall that plays Sang-woo's mother's shop — filmed there three times during 2020.
Address
11 Samyang-ro 154-gil, Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul (merchants' association office)
Getting there
Solbat Park Station (Ui-Sinseol Line), Exit 1 — the market is 78m away, a one-minute walk. Ignore directions sending you to Ssangmun Station on Line 4: Naver Map puts that at 39 minutes on foot.
💡 An everyday working-class market of about 60 shops, not a tourist zone — which is exactly why it feels like the show. Look for Paldo Geoneomul at 36 Samyang-ro 154-gil; the shop still has a Squid Game poster up. Trading is thin before 10:00 and many stalls break for lunch between 12:00 and 13:00. There is no car park.
2Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station
The subway platform where the recruiter (Gong Yoo) challenges Gi-hun to the ddakji slap-match that starts everything.
Address
Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station, Shinbundang Line, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Getting there
Shinbundang Line from Gangnam Station, two stops south. The Shinbundang Line charges a surcharge on top of the normal metro fare — ₩1,000 for the Gangnam–Jeongja section, which applies even if you change at Yangjae and ride a single stop.
💡 There is no sign, no marker and no photo zone — visitors in 2021 went looking and found nothing to identify. The scene is on the platform, not at an exit, and Korean visitors disagree about where exactly: one puts it at platform position 5-1, another says the ticket gates. They agree only on the direction, the Gangnam-bound side. Ddakji sets are sold in most stationery shops if you want to reenact it (gently).
What the sources show
🔎 Last checked · September 2026
We compare official notices, location records and Korean-language visitor reports. Specific opening hours, fares and access can change; check the linked operator information before travel.
The nearest station is not the one you have been told
Almost every English guide sends you to Ssangmun Station on Line 4. Naver Map walking directions put that at 2.6km and 39 minutes. The market sits 78 metres from Exit 1 of Solbat Park Station on the Ui-Sinseol Line — out of the exit and one block left, which is how every Korean visitor describes it.
The Squid Game experience centre is gone
Dobong district opened one in December 2021, directly opposite the fish shop, with tracksuits, guard costumes, dalgona and marbles. Korean press reported it closed after eleven months as visitor numbers fell. A visitor in March 2026 found the door shut for good; by then the space had been refitted as a restaurant with a new sign. Nothing has replaced it.
What is actually still there
One shop, and it is not the one most people expect. Paldo Geoneomul, the dried-fish stall at 36 Samyang-ro 154-gil, is where Sang-woo's mother works — filmed three times during 2020 — and it still has the drama poster up. We found no report of any mural, statue or official signboard anywhere in the market, and no district announcement of one.
Gi-hun's house is not a place you can visit
No Korean primary source identifies it. Fans have pinned down the fish shop, the convenience store where Gi-hun and Il-nam drink, and an alley off the market, but the house itself has never been located in print. Treat any English page that gives you an address for it as invented.
Go before it is demolished
The block the market stands on, Ssangmun-dong 460, cleared integrated redevelopment review in February 2025, and neighbouring lots are inside a Seoul Moa-town zone. No demolition date has been published, so this is not urgent — but this market is on a clock in a way the rest of this list is not.
Timing the market
The registered hours are 09:00 to 20:00 daily with a 12:00-13:00 break, but hours vary shop by shop and a 2025 visitor found little open before 10:00. There is no car park. The realistic window is 10:00 to 18:00.
Nothing marks the ddakji platform
No sign, no photo zone, no district or operator announcement — and a visitor in October 2021 wrote about arriving and finding nothing to show for it. Korean fans disagree on the spot itself: one says platform position 5-1, another says the ticket gates, and two could not pin it down from replaying the scene. All agree only on the Gangnam-bound side. We found no visit report at all from 2023 onwards.
The Shinbundang Line costs extra
It is privately operated and charges a surcharge on top of the standard metro fare: ₩1,000 for the Gangnam-Jeongja section, which this station is in. Changing from Line 3 at Yangjae and riding one single stop still triggers it. The surcharge is collected at the gate, and a single-journey card adds ₩100 plus a ₩500 deposit.
Based on: 33 Korean-language pages read on 9 September 2026 — 16 on Baekun Market, 17 on Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station, excluding search-result pages
The dormitory, the giant doll field and the candy-colored staircases were all studio sets built outside Seoul and struck after filming — there is no “Squid Game island” open to tourists. What exists instead:
Official pop-ups and experiences appear in Seoul whenever a new season drops — check current listings before your trip.
The ddakji, dalgona candy and marbles from the show are all real Korean childhood games. Dalgona street vendors in Myeongdong and Insadong will let you try the needle challenge for a few thousand won.
Getting the vibe on a budget
Ssangmun-dong costs nothing to wander and pairs well with nearby Dobong mountain views. It’s the rare filming location that shows you an untouristed, working-class side of Seoul most itineraries skip entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Where was Squid Game filmed?
Most of the games were shot on closed studio sets built outside Seoul, but Gi-hun's real world is in Seoul. The visitable spots are Baekun Market in Ssangmun-dong (his home neighborhood) and Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station (the ddakji scene).
Where is the ddakji slap-match scene in Squid Game?
It is the subway platform at Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station on the Shinbundang Line, where the recruiter played by Gong Yoo challenges Gi-hun to the ddakji match that starts everything. It is two stops south of Gangnam Station.
Can you visit the Squid Game island or the giant doll field?
No. The dormitory, the giant doll field and the candy-colored staircases were all studio sets built outside Seoul and taken down after filming — there is no Squid Game island open to tourists. Official pop-up experiences do appear in Seoul when a new season drops, so check current listings.
Is Gi-hun's neighborhood a real place?
Yes. It is Baekun Market in Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, northern Seoul — a real everyday working-class market, which is exactly why it feels like the show. It is free to wander and pairs well with nearby Dobong mountain views.
How do you get to the Squid Game locations in Seoul?
For Baekun Market, take the Ui-Sinseol Line to Solbat Park Station and leave by Exit 1 — the market is 78 metres away. Many English guides send you to Ssangmun Station on Line 4 instead; that is a 2.6km, 39-minute walk. For the ddakji platform, take the Shinbundang Line from Gangnam Station two stops south to Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station.
