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| Where Was We Are All Trying Here Filmed? Inside the Real Korean Locations Behind 2026’s Most Talked-About Drama. (Credits: jTBC) |
We Are All Trying Here (모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다) has quickly become one of 2026’s most discussed Korean dramas, not only for its sharp psychological storytelling and heavyweight cast, but also for the striking real-life locations woven through the series. Viewers came for Go Youn Jung, Koo Kyo Hwan, Park Hae Joon and Oh Jung Se wrestling with ambition, envy and emotional burnout. They stayed because every alley, bridge, café and hillside looked suspiciously cinematic. Korea does that a lot.
As always with high-profile productions, not every filming site was publicly revealed during shooting. Production teams often keep details quiet to stop crowds disrupting scenes, leaking spoilers or turning quiet streets into accidental fan conventions.
Still, enough locations have surfaced to build a rather impressive trail for fans wanting to follow in the footsteps of characters who desperately needed therapy and better work-life balance.
Set inside South Korea’s high-pressure entertainment industry, the drama follows struggling director Hwang Dong Man, sharp but wounded producer Byeon Eun A, a once-successful filmmaker facing collapse, and several others quietly losing composure in stylish surroundings. Thankfully, many of those surroundings are real places you can actually visit.
One of the most eye-catching stops is Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing in Hapjeong, Seoul.
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| jTBC |
This warm industrial-style bakery appears in scenes where characters attempt serious conversations over coffee while clearly needing several more coffees.
Located in Mapo District, Hapjeong is already known for trendy cafés and creative spaces, so it fits the drama’s exhausted-artist energy perfectly.
Nearby, Yeonhuigung in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun offers a calmer, elegant atmosphere. The neighbourhood is famous for leafy residential streets and refined hidden restaurants.
In the series, locations like this help balance the emotional chaos with a little visual peace. Korea’s streets often do more emotional support than the characters themselves.
The now-closed Amazing Brewing Company Seongsu Branch was another filming spot.
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| jTBC |
Even though the venue has ceased operations, Seongsu remains one of Seoul’s hottest districts, packed with converted warehouses, cafés and design stores. If the drama needed somewhere fashionable yet faintly intimidating, Seongsu was always going to volunteer.
Sudo Academy in Sinseol-dong adds a more institutional city texture.
This area of eastern Seoul has an older metropolitan look, ideal for scenes involving routine, pressure and people pretending everything is fine while clearly not fine.
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| jTBC |
The transfer corridor at Nowon Station, connecting Lines 4 and 7, brings classic commuter realism.
If you watched the series and thought “that station scene feels stressful”, congratulations, it worked. Seoul transfer tunnels can humble anyone.
Art lovers may recognise Summit Gallery in Daechi-dong, Gangnam, used for polished scenes involving status, money and carefully controlled smiles.
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| jTBC |
Gangnam’s sleek business image suits characters who appear successful on the outside while internally buffering.
Several road locations helped give the series its restless movement. Tojeong-ro in Hapjeong, Jeungga-ro in Yeonhui-dong, Hongjimun-gil, Sowol-ro near central Seoul, and World Cup buk-ro 60-gil in Sangam all appear to frame transitional moments, lonely walks and dramatic drives where no one simply takes a normal journey.
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| jTBC |
Publishing office The Book Company in Yeoksam-dong was another clever choice.
A corporate creative office suits a drama obsessed with scripts, careers and people weaponising feedback. Some viewers said scenes there felt more tense than action dramas.
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| jTBC |
Transport locations feature heavily too.
Sinseol-dong Station Exit 1 and its nearby bus stop appear in everyday commuter scenes, while Hongjimun Bus Stop adds that specific Korean-drama mood where life-changing conversations happen while waiting for public transport.
Buses in K-dramas often arrive slower than emotional revelations.
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| jTBC |
Outside Seoul, the production widened its map. Shinchon-dong railway crossing in Gwangju adds raw realism and open space.
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| jTBC |
Praum House Wedding in Namyangju brings grandeur and polished surfaces, ideal for scenes where people look glamorous while privately spiralling.
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| jTBC |
Cinema lovers spotted Megabox Goyang Starfield, a fitting venue for a drama set around the film industry. There is something wonderfully on-brand about fictional industry anxiety unfolding inside a real multiplex.
Food also gets screen time with Cheonjiyeon Jung-dong Branch in Bucheon and Yeoljeong Galbi Main Branch in Yongsan.
Korean dramas understand a universal truth: emotional conflict lands harder when grilled meat is nearby.
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| jTBC |
For sweeping urban visuals, Seogang Bridge and the Han River Park access slope toward Cheongam-dong deliver those classic Seoul skyline shots.
Whenever a character stared into the distance questioning life choices, the Han River was ready for its close-up.
Nature and spiritual calm arrive later through Goeunsan Mountain, Oksan 3 Bridge, and the historic Jeondeungsa Temple on Ganghwa Island.
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| jTBC |
These locations help reflect inner healing, regret and perspective. Also, temples make everyone seem wiser for at least ten minutes.
Ganghwa Island appears multiple times through Choji-ri farm roads, surrounding rural areas, and open roads that contrast sharply with the city’s pressure-cooker mood.
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| jTBC |
When dramas want characters to breathe, they usually send them somewhere with fields.
Medical scenes reportedly used The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St Mary’s Hospital.
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... while Narae Cine Alley Photo Studio in Yeongdeungpo adds a nostalgic urban touch.
Even a small alley photo studio can feel poetic when filmed properly.
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| jTBC |
Viewers online have praised the location choices as one of the drama’s strongest assets. Many said the spaces feel like an extra character, reflecting loneliness, ambition and recovery. Others joked that every street in Seoul now looks like somewhere they should go cry stylishly for self-discovery. A fair review, honestly.
Netizens have also started sharing travel wish lists, especially for Hapjeong cafés, Ganghwa Island temple routes, Han River evening walks and Seongsu creative districts. Some simply want to recreate scenes. Others just want pastries where Go Youn Jung once stood. Motivations vary.
What makes We Are All Trying Here stand out is how intelligently it uses real places rather than treating them as background wallpaper.
The cafés feel intimate, the roads feel uncertain, the bridges feel reflective, and the city feels exhausting in a very expensive-looking way.
If you are planning a South Korea trip, these filming sites make a brilliant drama-themed itinerary. You get trendy Seoul neighbourhoods, riverside views, mountain calm, cinematic suburbs and enough coffee stops to survive your own character arc.
Which location would you visit first? The stylish cafés, the Han River views, the temple escape or the station corridors of destiny? Tell us your pick and keep watching Tonboriday for more filming spots as new discoveries surface.