These stairs were made famous through — and eventually named after — My Name is Kim Sam-Soon/My Lovely Sam Soon (내 이름은 김삼순) (MBC, 2005) and its famous last kiss scene in episode 16. Since then, they regularly show up as filming location.

[Meta] When watching Jugglers and the kiss scene at these stairs alone at home in episode 9 of Crazy Love (Keuleiji Leobeu/크레이지 러브) (KBS2, 2022), Noh Go-jin (Kim Jae-wook) starts to imagine himself kissing Lee Shin-ah (Krystal Jung) at the same location.

Oh Ji-soo (Kim Dong-hee) meets Seo Min-hee (Jung Da-bin) at these stairs in final episode 10 of Extracurricular (Ingansueop/인간수업) (Netflix, 2020).

Kim Sol-ah (Shin Ye-eun) and Hong-jo (Kim Myung-soo) —in his human form— are set up on blind-date and their rendezvous is at these stairs in episode 7 (full episode 4) of Meow, The Secret Boy/Welcome (어서와) (KBS2, 2020).

Jang Yoon (Yeon Woo-jin) edges Hong Yi-young (Kim Se-jeong of Gugudan) to climb these stairs with him in episode 4 (full episode 2) of I Wanna Hear Your Song/Let Me Hear Your Song (너의 노래를 들려줘) (KBS2, 2019), after he drops her off on his motorcycle. Before this, he had told her that he’d send her to a friend’s studio to see a one-of-a-kind timpani set — of which there are only two in all of Korea.

Gong Ma-sung (Choi Jin-hyuk) and Joo Gi-bbeum (Song Ha-yoon) have a date here at the end of episode 7 in Devilish Joy (마성의 기쁨) (MBN/Dramax, 2018). All dressed up, she walks up the stairs and waits, waits and waits. In vain. Ma-sung, standing on the parking lot just vis-à-vis the street where the stairs begin, can’t remember why he came here; has lost his memory — again.

In episode 8 of Jugglers (저글러스) (KBS2, 2017-2018), Nam Chi-won (Choi Daniel) reaches over to kiss Jwa Yun-i (Baek Jin-hee) at the top of this staircase after crashing her blind date. Their spot is just next to (or slightly behind) the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education [서울특별시교육청 교육연구정보원] building.

In Let’s Fight Ghost / Bring it on, Ghost (싸우자 귀신아) (tvN, 2016), Kim Hyun-ji (Kim So-hyun) disappears here on top of the stairs in episode 8.

In episode 6 of Bubblegum (2015), Park Ri-hwan (Lee Dong-wook) and Kim Haeng-ah (Jeong Ryeo-won) eat oden at a street stall right at the foot of the stairs when on their if-we-dated-date.

Kang Seo-wool (Nam Ji-hyun) takes these stairs in episode 1 of What Happens to My Family/What’s With This Family (가족끼리 왜 이래) (KBS2, 2014-15) to visit Namsan Tower.

So Yi-jeong (Kim Bum) and Chu Ga-eul (Kim So-eun) have a talk at the top of this staircase (at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) in episode 24 of Boys Over Flowers/Boys Before Flowers (꽃보다 남자) (KBS2, 2009), with Ga-eul telling him that she will not be looking for him anymore — despite him wanting to say otherwise.

Yoon Hye-jin (Oh Yeon-soo) climbs these stairs with a group of Japanese tourists in final episode 24 of La Dolce Vita/Bitter Sweet Life (달콤한 인생) (MBC, 2008) to bring them to the Namsan Park Fountain [남산공원분수대].

Happy that Kang Tae-bong (Lee Min-ki) took on as a lawyer again, Oh Dal-ja (Cha Rim) runs up this stairs on a morning jogging in episode 20 of Dal-ja’s Spring/Dalja’s Springtime/Spring of Dal-ja (달자의 봄) (KBS2, 2007) and screams out ‘law firm’ on the top of the stairs to the bewilderment of other morning sportsman.

Also seen in episode 2 of Pride and Prejudice (오만과 편견) (MBC, 2014) and Time Between Dog And Wolf (개와 늑대의 시간) (MBC, 2007).

— Samsung Anycall Bodyguard CF with Kim Bum and Kim So-eun (as So Yi-jeong and Chu Ga-eul) (2009) (behind-the-scenes video)

The Sam-soon Stairs [삼순이 계단/삼순이계단] —or Samsuni Stairway— are located at Namsan Park [남산공원] in Seoul’s neighborhood Hoehyeon [Hoehyeon-dong/회현동], in the Jung District [Jung-gu/중구].

The stairs lead up from Sopa-ro [소파로] to Namsan Park Fountain [남산공원분수대] (closed) and the Ahn Junggeun Memorial Museum [안중근의사기념관]. From here, the Namsan/Mokmyeoksan section of the Seoul Fortress Wall/Hanyang City Wall [서울한양도성 서울성곽길 남산(목멱산)구간] can also be accessed and it is not very far from/to Namsan Public Library [남산도서관].

Address
649 Namsan Park-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
서울특별시 중구 남산공원길 649
(회현동1가 산 1-2)
Geolocation: 37.554717, 126.981772

Getting here
Hoehyeon Station [회현역], Seoul Subway Line 4, Exit 4
You can get to the stairs via Namsan Park [남산공원], which is also where the Namsan/Mokmyeoksan section of the Seoul Fortress Wall/Hanyang City Wall [서울한양도성 서울성곽길 남산(목멱산)구간] is located.

— Submitted by Marion KDL, updated by Mich KDL; last updated 07/04/2022
— Photos taken by © Mich KDL, 2011 & May 2018