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The Good Bad Mother follows Jin Young-soon, a single mother who raised her son with an iron hand, and Choi Kang-ho, the prosecutor son who returns to her village after an accident leaves him changed. The drama’s second chance happens in the countryside, and its three visitable places are countryside places: a meadow hill where children play, a ginkgo forest where a ball is found, and a stone-wall village where mother and son live together again.
Gyeongju: hill and forest
Hwarang Hill, in Sannae-myeon, is the guide’s confirmed hilltop stop. VisitKorea calls it a meadow where Kang-ho and neighborhood children often played, and Korea JoongAng Daily places Kang-ho there with the two children in the drama’s first scenes, with the Meditation Rock as the viewpoint over the village and rice paddies below. Dori Village Ginkgo Tree Forest is the quieter Gyeongju stop: VisitKorea says it is where Kang-ho found the twins’ bouncy ball, in a forest of densely planted ginkgo trees that turns golden in fall. Only VisitKorea names it at exact-spot level, so it stays reported.
Gunwi: the village
Hanbam Village is the guide’s heart and its second confirmed stop. VisitKorea says Young-soon comes here driving a pig truck after losing her husband and settles among the villagers; Korea JoongAng Daily calls it the main setting where mother and son stay together and restore their relationship, under its drama name, the Jowoori Stone Wall Village. The stone-wall paths run for kilometers, and the village is a real home to real people — the house at the story’s center is an actual residence, so walk quietly and leave doors alone.
Getting there
Two stops are in Gyeongju and one is in Gunwi, which now sits in Daegu’s administrative area. No last-mile transit route was verified for any stop from the sources used here, so check local bus or taxi options on arrival, and recheck each place’s access on the day. For more Gyeongsangbuk-do filming places, see Perfect Crown’s Gyeongju and The Scandal’s Mungyeong.
Visiting notes
The Good Bad Mother ran for 14 episodes on JTBC, airing on Wednesdays and Thursdays from April 26 to Jun 8, 2023. It was directed by Shim Na-yeon from a script by Bae Se-young, and its story — a strict single mother and the prosecutor son who returns to her village changed by an accident — is why the guide’s places feel domestic rather than grand: a hill, a forest and a village, not a palace or a studio set.
Plan the hill for its viewpoint and the village for its walk. At Hwarang Hill, VisitKorea points visitors to Meditation Rock at the cliff end for the view over the village and rice paddies below, and notes the hilltop lawns and reservoir; walking and picnicking are allowed, while camping is not. At Hanbam Village, VisitKorea describes a village entirely surrounded by stone walls, with traditional houses, a seodang village school and a Triad Grotto blending Confucian and Buddhist heritage, and notes its serene rural scenery with sparse crowds. Because Hanbam is a lived-in village, the same etiquette applies as at the drama house: stay on public paths, keep noise down, and do not enter private homes. In fall, the Dori Village ginkgo forest is the seasonal stop — VisitKorea says its densely planted trees turn golden.
Planning the visit
VisitKorea places Hanbam Village under Palgongsan Mountain, and describes its draw in simple terms: stone walls and rural scenery to walk along, rather than a single sight to tick off. That framing suits a slow visit — follow the stone-wall paths, look for the traditional houses and the village school, and treat the village itself as the stop. Practical details help, too. VisitKorea lists Hanbam Village as open around the clock and all year, with parking available, and lists the Dori Village ginkgo forest the same way: open around the clock, all year, with parking available and no admission charge. At Dori, the same listing adds a smaller pleasure to the walk: as you wander through the village, read the phrases written on the walls, before reaching the densely planted ginkgo forest.
How we checked
Two stops come from both VisitKorea’s official Good Bad Mother course and Korea JoongAng Daily’s 2023 filming-locations article, and are labeled confirmed; the third comes from VisitKorea alone and stays reported. A second independent exact-spot source was sought for the third stop on Oct 27, 2026 and not found. One VisitKorea course place, the Sosomilmil café, is deliberately not a stop here, because the branch named by the two sources could not be matched with confidence. Our methodology explains how each label is earned.
Sources
- VisitKorea: Therapeutic Through the Growth Drama “The Good Bad Mother” (course)
- Korea JoongAng Daily: Surprises guaranteed at “The Good Bad Mother” filming locations (May 26, 2023)
- NME: How many episodes of ‘The Good Bad Mother’ are there? (2023) — 14 episodes, April 26 to Jun 8, 2023, JTBC Wednesdays and Thursdays
- VisitKorea: Hanbam Village (place listing)
- VisitKorea: Dori Village Ginkgo Tree Forest (place listing)
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