You may have heard of Starfield COEX Mall in Seoul as it houses the famous Starfield Library that has been featured in several Korean shows. But did you know that the area where it is located is a home to other buildings and establishments which were used as Kdrama filming locations? Here are some of it:
Let us start with Starfield COEX Mall (스타필드 코엑스몰). It is one of the most famous shopping centers in Seoul which carries both domestic brands and international brands, as well as designer and luxury brands. Here you can find variety of items from clothing, to accessories, and it also has a lot of dining options with many restaurants and coffee shops. Moreover, this mall also has the Megabox Cineplex, one of Korea’s largest movie theater chains. This mall also houses the COEX Aquarium, the ASEM Plaza and the Event Court, which is a venue for various performances and exciting events.
The famous Starfield Library (별마당도서관) is located in the center of the Starfield COEX Mall. It is an open public space you can freely sit down and read some books. This two-storied library has 13-meter-tall bookshelves with a wide selection of publications in various genres. There are also domestic and international magazines that you can browse while sitting in its chairs and benches. The first floor has publications about literatures and humanities, while the basement has books for hobbies and practical use.
If you have watched the Kdrama “Record of Youth”, Starfiled Library is where Sa Hye-joon (Park Bo-gum) and An Jeong-ha (Park So-dam) meet in episode 3. Other Kdramas filmed there are the following:
513 Yeongdong-daero, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Take Seoul Subway Line 2 and get off at Samseong Station, Exit 5/6. Or take Seoul Subway Line 9 and get off at Bongeunsa Station, Exit 7. It has direct access to Asem Plaza, which is the east side of the complex.
In addition, just next to Starfiled COEX Mall is the Coex Artium. This establishment used to display merchandise, used costumes, and other items belonging to SM artists such as Super Junior, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT and Girls Generation.
Additionally, when you go outside of SMTOWN, you can also find the handprints of several SM artists on display. However, this place permanently closed in 2019.
Furthermore, just beside Starfield is the Parnas Tower [파르나스타워]. It is a 39-storey office building that is physically connected to the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas Hotel. This was featured in the Kdrama “Start-Up” asthe Morning Group headquarters run by Won Doo-jung (Eom Hyo-seop), Won In-jae’s (Kang Han-na) stepfather. In addition, this was also a filming location of the Kdrama “Private Life”. It appeared as the headquarters of GK Technology the company that Lee Jung-hwan (Go Kyung-pyo) works.
(06164) 서울특별시 강남구 테헤란로 521 파르나스타워
Next is the Trade Tower [트레이드타워] which is a 54-floor high-rise building that is also known as Korea General Trade Center. It resembles two quadro-level towers in mirror image of each other. This was a Kdrama location of the following series:
And lastly, just across the Trade Tower, you can see the Samseong Bus Stop which is a filming location of the Kdrama “Touch Your Heart”. This is where Kwon Jung-rok (Lee Dong-wook) is taking a bus in the episodes 13 to 14 the drama while video of Oh Yoon-seo (Yoo In-na) is playing on the large screen across the street. Therefore, if you plan to ride a bus in going to Coex mall, you can opt to drop off at this bus stop.
From Samseong Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), find your way out to Exit 7 then turn left. The bus stop is just in front of the Trade Tower beside COEX Artium.
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