Wait, Baegam Has a Historical Drama Set Too?

Hey, I'm Yongi. Last time I told you about Baegam sundae, remember? Everyone wanted to go check it out after hearing that. But here's the thing — Baegam isn't just about sundae. There's another story tucked into this town too: a huge historical drama set. It'd be a shame to just eat and leave, so today let's dig into that story a bit more.

A big set right in the middle of Baegam

Head toward Baegam-myeon in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, and you'll come across a large historical drama set known as 'Daejanggeum Park.' I can't say for sure exactly when or at what scale it was built — sources vary a little — but what's clear is that there's a genuinely large filming space tucked into one side of Baegam. The name 'Daejanggeum Park' kind of gives it away, right? It's known to be closely tied to the famous drama Dae Jang Geum. Honestly, I was a little surprised when I first heard this — that a set like this existed so close to the sundae street, right in our own Baegam. People who only ever came for sundae probably walked right past it without ever knowing.

Stories like this make me imagine things — actors in old-fashioned costumes once standing right behind those cameras, while now who knows how many people just see it as a quiet, ordinary neighborhood and walk on by. Honestly, details like this are hard to pin down precisely. The set's name and exactly when it was built get written a little differently depending on the source, so my guess is it's a space that's been touched up and changed here and there over a long stretch of time. Still, the fact that it's known by one name, 'Daejanggeum Park,' and comes up in so many people's conversations tells me it must have been a pretty symbolic spot for this town. After hearing all this, I got curious myself — was it just Dae Jang Geum, or did something keep going after that?

A story that didn't end with Dae Jang Geum

As it turns out, this set is said to have kept being used as a filming location for various historical dramas even after Dae Jang Geum wrapped. So it's not a place that had one flash of fame and faded — it's said to have kept playing the role of a historical-drama stage for quite a while after that. I honestly can't say for certain how many productions passed through here. But the fact that it wasn't just a one-off hit that vanished, but somewhere cameras kept coming back to over time, struck me as pretty impressive.

Listening to this made me wonder how different Baegam must have been back when actors and crews were bustling around. These days it might look like an ordinary rural scene to passersby, but thinking that part of this town was once a backdrop caught inside a camera lens gives me a strange little thrill. Putting it all together like this, I realize Baegam has been holding onto more stories, for longer, than I thought. While people were grabbing a quick bowl of sundae soup down the street, cameras next door kept rolling, year after year.

Right next to the sundae street, a story that quietly kept going

It's kind of wild to think about — the warm steam rising from the sundae soup restaurants, and people walking around in old-fashioned costumes inside the set, both happening side by side in the same Baegam. One side welcomed customers every day; the other quietly lit up again whenever filming rolled around. I really like places like that. To locals it might just be familiar scenery, but through a camera lens it becomes a stage for a completely different era, a completely different story. The fact that one name, Baegam, holds two such different faces is something I keep turning over in my head.

I wonder how many people passing through Baegam actually know this. Most probably come drawn by the smell of sundae, fill up, and leave — but if they knew a space like this had been quietly holding onto stories nearby for so long, I bet this town would look a little different to them.

Two faces meeting in one town

It's such a fun combination when you think about it. On one side, rows of steaming sundae soup restaurants; on the other, characters from historical dramas walking around in old costumes. Under the same name, Baegam, a food story and a screen story sit side by side.

I love towns like this — ones where several layers of story hide under a single name tag. From the outside it might look like just a quiet countryside town, but it turns out to be remembered by some as a sundae hotspot, and by others as a historical drama set. If you ever pass through Baegam, don't just eat sundae and leave — take a moment to remember this set story too. It'll feel like meeting the same town two or three different times, in two or three different ways.

🐉 A Mood Photo, via Yongi