Why visit the Exhuma forests
Exhuma (파묘, 2024) is Jang Jae-hyun’s occult mystery about a feng shui master, a mortician, and two shamans hired to relocate an ominous grave. It drew 9.5 million admissions — the highest-grossing Korean film of 2024 (KOFIC, via Korea JoongAng Daily). Its most recognizable visuals are its forest scenes: the crew pushing through dark, towering woods on their way to the grave. Those woods are real, and they are visitable — which is the whole reason this guide exists.
The catch, and the charm, is geography. The grave itself is fictional, but every place below is real and publicly visitable. Three of the four stops sit outside Seoul, so plan this as a regional trip, not a Seoul walk: two forests near Busan, a 500-year-old guardian tree in Damyang, and a famous hotel in central Seoul. Base yourself in Busan for the forest stops and in Seoul for the hotel, and give the forests a full day each — Ahopsan’s trail alone takes one to two hours, and Daeunsan doubles as an overnight stop with camping decks and cabins.
What you get is atmosphere with substance. Ahopsan is a privately owned forest with over 400 years of history that opened to the public in 2015. The Damyang tree is a living guardian, honored at the village’s dangsanje ritual each Lunar New Year. Daeunsan is a national recreation forest at the foot of Mount Daeun. And the Seoul hotel is a landmark beside City Hall where a feng shui master admires the site. Come for the film’s mood; stay for places that were old and storied long before any camera arrived.
The forests: dark trails, real places
Ahopsan Forest (아홉산숲), Gijang, Busan. The crew walks this forest trail on their way up to the grave — the film’s dark, towering-woods sequences were shot among these pines, cypresses, and bamboo. Getting there: nearest transit — check Naver Map (English UI). Address: 37-1 Midong-gil, Cheolma-myeon, Gijang-gun, Busan. Cost: admission is charged; check current fees before going. Time: the full trail takes about one to two hours. Tips: a privately owned forest open to the public since 2015; visitors book through the Naver Map app or the forest’s website. Check current hours and fees before going. Status: confirmed.
Daeunsan Natural Recreation Forest (대운산자연휴양림), Yangsan. Several eerie forest scenes on the way to the grave were filmed in this recreation forest at the foot of Mount Daeun. Getting there: nearest transit — check Naver Map (English UI). Address: 270 Tapgol-gil, Yangsan, South Gyeongsang. Cost: check current fees before going. Tips: a national recreation forest with camping decks and cabins for overnight stays — book through the Korea Forest Service site. A hiking trail leads to Mount Daeun’s peak, and a reservoir and waterfall are nearby. Status: confirmed. Note: one secondary source mislabels this site as “Daedunsan” in Chungcheongnam-do; the correct site is Daeunsan Natural Recreation Forest in Yangsan. Daedunsan is a different mountain.
The 500-year-old tree in Damyang
The giant tree in Hwa-rim’s flashback is real: the Gyeongsang Village Zelkova Tree (경상마을 당산나무) in Damyang, South Jeolla. A zelkova over 500 years old and 35 meters tall, it is the village’s guardian tree — believed to hold a holy spirit, and honored each Lunar New Year at the village’s dangsanje ritual. In the film, Hwa-rim hides behind its massive trunk.
Getting there: nearest transit — check Naver Map (English UI). Address: Gyeongsang-ri, Gasamunhak-myeon, Damyang-gun. Cost: no admission is stated. Tips: visit quietly — this is a small farming village, not a tourist park. Keep off the root area, and do not photograph residents. The village holds its dangsanje ritual at Lunar New Year. Status: confirmed.
The hotel on “a great site”
The Plaza Hotel (더 플라자 서울), Seoul. Feng shui master Kim Sang-deok looks at this hotel and remarks on its remarkably good site — though the film depicts the place as dark. The real hotel is a landmark beside City Hall and Seoul Plaza — the site of the 2002 World Cup street cheering — and the place where actor Choi Min-sik held his wedding in 1999.
Getting there: City Hall Station, subway Lines 1 and 2. Address: 119 Sogong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Cost: no admission; it is a working hotel. Tips: a working luxury hotel beside City Hall. Visit respectfully — look around the public areas without disturbing guests. Status: reported — only Korea JoongAng Daily names it as a filming location so far; a second independent source is still missing.
Getting there and planning your day
Three of the four stops sit outside Seoul. Ahopsan Forest is in Gijang, east of Busan; Daeunsan is in Yangsan, between Busan and Daegu; the zelkova stands in rural Damyang. Check intercity bus and train times on Naver Map or Kakao Map on the day of travel. The Plaza Hotel is the easy one: right next to City Hall Station in Seoul (Lines 1 and 2).
For bases: Busan covers the forest stops (Ahopsan in Gijang; Daeunsan in Yangsan is also reachable from Busan), and Seoul covers The Plaza Hotel. Do not try to chain all four stops into one day — the forests deserve a full day each, and Damyang is a separate trip from Busan.
How we checked
Ahopsan Forest, the Damyang zelkova and Daeunsan are confirmed: Korea JoongAng Daily (Mar 22, 2024) and KoreaTravelPost agree on all three. The Plaza Hotel is reported: only the JoongAng piece names it so far. One secondary source mislabels Daeunsan as “Daedunsan” with a Chungcheongnam-do address; the correct site is Daeunsan Natural Recreation Forest, 270 Tapgol-gil, Yangsan (Korea JoongAng Daily), and this guide uses the corrected name and address.
Photos are location photos of the real places, not drama stills, each with its credit and licence. The hero (Ahopsan bamboo grove), Ahopsan Forest and Daeunsan carry CC BY-SA photos. Two stops have no location photo yet and are listed without one rather than with an unverified image: the Gyeongsang Village zelkova tree and The Plaza Hotel. Spot status was last checked Oct 13, 2026. The guide text was enriched Oct 19, 2026 from the sources already listed, with no status changes.
More filming walks
For more Busan filming walks, see Pachinko’s Busan and Black Panther in Busan.
Sources
All sources for this guide
Accessed Oct 13, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.
- Korea JoongAng Daily — [WEEKEND GETAWAY] 4 ‘Exhuma’ filming locations we think you’ll dig (Mar 22, 2024)
- KoreaTravelPost — Dive Into the Shamanic Universe of “Exhuma” Through These Famous Mystical Filming Locations
- IFFK — Exhuma / 파묘 — Jang Jae-hyun, director; cast Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin, Lee Do-hyun
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