Today my head almost exploded from excitement. No lie.

The cause of my excitement?

If you recognise these pictures, not only are you obviously a superior person already because you are a kdrama watcher, but you also have excellent taste in your kdrama choices.

For the uninitiated, these are iconic shots from Mr Sunshine, an outstanding and incredibly heart-breaking historical drama telling the story of secret independence fighters set during the time of the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 1900’s. And it’s no spoiler to say the tag line for this drama is Guns, Glory, and Sad Endings. And believe me, it’s all true. I bawled constantly all the way through the last 5 episodes with no reprieve. But it was amazing.

What is even more amazing is that the set for this drama exists almost in its entirety on the outskirts of the city of Nonsan in Korea. It is called Sunshine Studios and is fully open to visitors who wish to go and have their tiny minds blown for the meagre price of ₩9,000 (about $7).

As if I didn’t think visiting filming sites for Off the Grid and Travel the Ladder were special enough, like walking right into my television set, visiting Sunshine Studios literally took my breath away. I was stunned. It was indeed as if I was right there in the drama itself and was half waiting for the characters to walk around the corner at any moment.

All the buildings you would expect were there; The Glory Hotel, the bar where the three bromance boys met, the streetcar, the peddlers back alley store, and the bridge. Oh my god, the bridge!

And even better, you could go into these places, wander around and get up close; they weren’t roped off at all. I indeed went into the Glory Hotel, ordered a matcha latte, and sat in the sun on the balcony where Eugene Choi and Kim Hee Sung would talk to each other around the corner of the building. I wandered across the bridge and from the top could scan the whole town. I passed by the bakery and cake shop. I climbed into the streetcar and rang the bell. I went into the bar and sat down as if I was ordering a drink, before wandering upstairs and into Goo Dong Mae’s room and checking out his katana sword. I scuttled along the back streets to the trading stall and Kim Hee Sung’s writing ‘office’. There is even a set-up of the train car from the last episode (yes, that scene) and a gravestone in a small graveyard.   

I must have wandered around the set for a good 2 or 3 hours. Not that it is huge, it is a neatly compact site, but I just couldn’t get over it all. The whole town was just there. It was almost like you could move in and live there. It really was just a most wonderful experience.

The atmosphere is also set by the fact there is a speaker system in the complex that is playing the OST on a loop, so as you are exploring you hear the background music from the drama everywhere you go.

Finally, when you have had your fill, there is of course the chance to visit the small gift shop. I couldn’t leave without something. This place was just too special a visit to not have a reminder of it. So I picked a replica of the Room 303 door key from the hotel and a small metal Korean flag pin in the style of the independence movement.

It was incredibly hard to tear myself away from here. I kept circling the town to ensure I had seen everything and absorbed everything I could. And even then I paused at the exit for one last chat with myself to make sure I really was ready to leave.

For any fan of the drama visiting the country, you will really want to see this place. You won’t regret it.

And after all of that excitement, I needed something a little more relaxing to calm myself down. And what could be better than a barefoot walk in the chilly weather along a clay path up to a hill fortress?

Yes. You read that correctly.

Although being truthful I walked up to the fortress in question wearing my shoes as I wanted to explore it first, and then came back down the hill barefoot. Because we have to try these things where and when we can.

As I have shown you previously in past posts, hiking barefoot is nothing new or odd here in Korea, I’ve seen plenty of people out on the trails wearing no shoes. The difference here is that where I am headed today, the Gyejoksan Mountain Red Clay Trail near Daejeon, has been specifically designed for this purpose. It is the result of a private endeavour, opened in 2006, and billed as the country’s first eco-healing walking path. In total it is over 14km in length and a popular place for people to come see what it’s like walking over clay.

For those visiting, parking is a case of just slightly abandoning your car along the main road at the base of the hill. There are marked bays, but this place fills up very quickly, so you have to be lucky to get a spot. You then have to walk up to the start of the trail where there are facilities to sit and remove your shoes, taps to wash your feet when you return back, and toilets. It’s quite well provisioned all in all.

As I said, I completed the hike up in my shoes. The clay path runs alongside a normal road trail, so you can opt to use whichever suits you best. The hike up to Gyejoksanseong Fortress will take your breath away, but it won’t kill you. And the views from the top are very much worth it.

Once you get up there, it’s worth having a seat and just taking in the surrounding countryside, especially if the weather is nice. For me, it was rather perfect.

Once I had come back down off of the forest trail and steps that led to the fortress, I stopped at a bench and took off my shoes and socks. And boy was it cold. We are halfway through November now, remember. Even for me, who notoriously has freezing cold feet all of the time, I did slightly clench my teeth every now and then against the bite, but it wasn’t enough to put me off.

Obviously in warmer weather this would be a lovely and cooling activity to complete, not forgetting that the clay would be plentiful, thick, and soft. Today’s weather, not so much. It is the end of the season and the clay probably won’t be refreshed I am guessing until spring, the cold is enough to make the clay stiffer to walk on, however there is still enough give in it where my feet and toes leave indents; therefore I feel I am getting a fair experience of this.

And so down the hill I walk.

The overall feeling of the whole experience of both up and down is pleasant and relaxing. I am in no hurry. The forest is plentiful, green, and quiet. I concentrate on where I place my feet and the sensation of the clay under them. I pass by a number of people, some on the clay, some not. Those sharing the path with me, especially the older folks, smile and nod and I get the impression they are happy or silently giving me kudos for walking barefoot and giving it a go.  

Reaching the base of the hill, I sit down and give my feet a scrub off…with freezing cold water. My feet were so relieved to have warm socks and shoes back on, I could practically hear them whispering their thanks to me.

I hope they are refreshed and rejuvenated by our experience today and ready for something a little more taxing tomorrow, for we head into a weekend of hiking – it’s off to Gyeryongsan and Songnisan National Parks!