Two Cheongju stops from The Glory: the Jungang Park ginkgo tied to the outdoor Baduk-learning scenes, and Yonghwasa Temple — separate from Incheon Cheongna.
Nearest KTX station: Osong, with Cheongju’s intercity bus terminal in the city center. Both stops sit in central Cheongju, so the pair fits a Seoul day trip. The Incheon side of The Glory — Cheongna Lake Park’s Baduk plaza — has its own guide (The Glory in Cheongna), and Song Hye-kyo’s other confirmed filming set, the Uruk set in Taebaek, is covered in our Descendants of the Sun guide. Another North Chungcheong day trip is Crash Landing on You in Chungju.
Getting there (transit)
Fares and schedules change. Prefer official pages on your travel day.
Seoul → Cheongju
The high-speed gateway for the Cheongju area is Osong Station, not Cheongju Station. KTX fares from Seoul to Osong run roughly ₩15,000–₩38,000 depending on the train/route; book and verify on Korail. Express buses also run from Seoul Express Bus Terminal to Cheongju Express Bus Terminal, roughly ₩9,000–₩15,000 depending on the service. Verify same-day services before you go.
Cheongju arrival → Jungang Park and Yonghwasa Temple
Plan the last leg with the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on each place card. Head for Cheongju Jungang Park / Apgaksu (117 Namsa-ro, Sangdang-gu) or Yonghwasa Temple (565 Musimseo-ro, Seowon-gu), both in the city center.
The two places
Cheongju Jungang Park sits in the heart of Cheongju, a city-center park that VisitKorea describes as a relaxing space full of cultural heritage. Its centerpiece is the Apgaksu, a ginkgo estimated to be over a thousand years old, whose name is said to come from leaves shaped like a duck’s foot. The park also holds Mangseollu Pavilion, a Goryeo-period open-sided pavilion and the oldest wooden structure in Cheongju, and the Byeongma Jeoldosa Yeongmun Gate. In The Glory, Dong-eun learns to play Go (baduk) from Yeo-jeong under the Apgaksu, in scenes VisitKorea says captured the park across all four seasons. The bench from the show is no longer there, so expect the tree and the pavilion, not a preserved set.
Yonghwasa Temple in Seowon-gu is a working Buddhist temple beside the Musimcheon Stream, unusually central for a temple rather than secluded in the hills. The current temple was established in 1902 on the site of a larger late-Goryeo temple, confirmed by a 1992 excavation. Its Yonghwabojeon Hall holds seven Buddha sculptures designated Treasure No. 985, examples of Goryeo Buddhist art. In the drama, Hye-jeong is blackmailed into serving Dong-eun here, and Dong-eun offers prayers at Yonghwabojeon Hall. The temple also runs Templestay and temple-cuisine programs; check the temple before you go, as no daily opening hours were found from an official source.
Do not confuse this park with Cheongna Lake Park in Incheon, which has its own guide and a different Baduk plaza.
Nearby in central Cheongju
Neither of these is a Glory filming location, but both pair naturally with the two stops:
- Seongan-gil Fashion Street, near Jungang Park: a car-free street of clothing stores, restaurants, cafés and a plaza, with street festivals and flea markets.
- Yukgeori Market, the largest traditional market in Cheongju, for tteokbokki, mandu, pancakes and grilled galbi patties.
- Culture Factory and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju, a cultural space in a former tobacco facility on the theme of Cheongju as a city of crafts. Its VisitKorea article lists Tuesday–Sunday hours but warns it was last updated in July 2024, so check before you go.
- Musimcheon Stream, beside Yonghwasa Temple, for a stream-side walk after the temple visit.
- Ullidan Street, a café and craft-shop street near Heungdeok Elementary School — note this is a Crash Course in Romance spot, not a Glory spot.
Tips
The park is free and open, and both stops are described as central, but they sit in different districts (Jungang Park in Sangdang-gu, Yonghwasa in Seowon-gu), so plan the move between them on the map links rather than as a single walk; no walking time between them was found. Yonghwasa is a working temple, so visit quietly and follow temple etiquette.
Sources
All sources for this guide
Accessed Sep 23, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.
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JoongAng — GO로케: The Glory Baduk park / filming places
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Korail — https://www.letskorail.com/ebizcom/cs/guide/guide/guide11.do
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VisitKorea — Fly Directly to Cheongju and Fall in Love with This Enchanting City (Jungang Park and Yonghwasa Temple as The Glory locations) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
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VisitKorea — Filming Spots: “The Glory” & “Crash Course in Romance” (Cheongju course incl. Yonghwasa Temple) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
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VisitKorea — Cheongju Jungang Park (accessed Oct 26, 2026)
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VisitKorea — Cheongju Jungang Park listing
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VisitKorea — Cheongju Yonghwasa Temple listing
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Korean Temple Adventures — Yonghwasa Temple history
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Rome2Rio — Seoul to Osong train fares
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Rome2Rio — Seoul to Cheongju express bus
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Korea Trip Tips — Seongan-gil Fashion Street
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