Goblin | Unhyeongung Western House — The White Mansion That Held Two Gods

The white house sits inside the old Unhyeongung compound at 460 Samil-daero, Jongno-gu. Arched verandahs. Stone balusters. A pine in the forecourt. In Goblin this is the exterior of the house where Kim Shin and the Grim Reaper live, and where Ji Eun-tak is pulled whenever the sword in the goblin's chest starts to hurt.

The building is Unhyeongung Yanggwan, a Western-style residence raised in the early twentieth century on palace ground that once belonged to the family of Heungseon Daewongun. Duksung Women's University later took the site for its Jongno campus. The university uses the house. The wooden gate on the street now carries signs that keep casual walkers out of the offices.

You can still stand in the square and see the facade the drama used. Visit Seoul put the Yanggwan on its official Goblin walking course for that reason. The adjacent Unhyeongung hanok palace is the part that sells tickets and keeps regular hours. The white house is the part the cameras loved.

Bring the still in your pocket. Match the arches. Then walk next door into the older courtyard, where the stone and timber have nothing to do with a goblin and everything to do with why this block was worth filming in the first place.

Photo: Western House of Unhyeongung, Wikimedia Commons.