Seongjisullye — A Fan's Pilgrimage to Their Beloved Places

After binge-watching a Korean drama, a strange feeling creeps in. You start wondering where that beach — the one where the lead cried — actually is, or that alley where the two of them first crossed paths. In the end, you book a train ticket for the weekend and go find the place yourself. That rush of standing on the very spot you saw on screen, with your own two feet — Korean fans call this kind of trip 성지순례 (seongjisullye).

성지순례

성지순례 (seongjisullye) originally comes from religion. ‘성지 (聖地)’ means holy land, and ‘순례 (巡禮)’ means traveling around to visit sacred places. So originally it referred to a devout journey — a believer visiting a religious holy site like Jerusalem or Mecca.

But these days, among young Koreans and especially within fan culture, the word carries a completely different temperature. Deliberately going to the filming location of a drama or movie you love, a restaurant an idol visited, or a street that appeared in a music video — this is called 성지순례. Where religious devotion once sat, ‘덕심 (a fan’s affection)’ has now taken its place. Online, the meaning has stretched even further: going to see the ‘original post’ behind some hot topic, or a landmark that gets talked about like a legend, is also called 성지순례.

The key nuance is that you go ‘on purpose, with intent.’ It’s not stopping by while passing through — the place itself becomes the goal, and you spend time and money to visit it as if on a pilgrimage. That’s why the word carries a flutter of pride, a sense of ‘this is how much I love it.‘

Seeing It in Real Conversation

Situation: A weekend afternoon at a seaside bus stop in Gangneung. It’s where the final scene of Emily’s favorite drama was filmed, so she dragged Jun-kyung along for the three-hour drive from Seoul.

Jun-kyung: 에밀리, 우리 이거 보려고 진짜 여기까지 온 거야? 그냥 버스정류장인데. Emily, we really came all the way here just to see this? It’s just a bus stop.

Emily: 무슨 소리야. 여기가 그 마지막 장면 찍은 데라니까. 나한테는 완전 성지순례야. What do you mean? This is where they shot that final scene. For me, this is a total pilgrimage.

Jun-kyung: 하긴, 너 그 드라마 다섯 번 봤다며. Well, you did say you watched that drama five times.

Emily: 응, 여기 딱 서 있으니까 소름 돋아. 사진 좀 찍어줘, 그 각도로. Yeah, standing right here gives me goosebumps. Take a picture — that angle.

Jun-kyung: 자, 웃어. …근데 저기 저 카페도 거기 나온 데 아니야? Okay, smile. …By the way, isn’t that café over there also in the show?

Emily: 맞아! 그럼 우리 카페까지 제대로 성지순례 하는 거네. 가자! Yes! Then we’re doing the café pilgrimage properly too. Let’s go!

Example Sentences by Situation

From here on are our own example sentences, so you can see how this expression actually gets used.

A fan’s travel plan — “이번 휴가 때 부산으로 성지순례 갈 거야. 그 영화 나온 카페 다 돌 거야. (ibeon hyuga ttae busaneuro seongjisullye gal geoya.)” → Building your whole trip around the settings of a favorite work — this is the most typical use.
Finding the ‘original’ online — When people discover the ‘original post’ behind an old famous quote or a well-known meme (짤) on the internet, they write in the comments, “성지순례 왔습니다 (seongjisullye watseumnida).” → It’s a playful way of saying, “That legendary post — I’ve finally come to see it in person.”
Visiting a beloved eatery or hangout — “그 아이돌 자주 온다는 국밥집, 나 어제 성지순례 하고 왔어. (geu aideol jaju ondaneun gukbapjip, na eoje seongjisullye hago wasseo.)” → A culture of going in person to ‘verify’ a place a star has visited.

Formal vs. Casual Speech and Similar Expressions

Casual: “나 어제 성지순례 갔다 왔어. (na eoje seongjisullye gatda wasseo.)”
Formal: “저 지난 주말에 성지순례 다녀왔어요. (jeo jinan jumare seongjisullye danyeowasseoyo.)”

‘성지순례’ is usually used like a verb by adding 가다·하다·다녀오다 (gada·hada·danyeooda) after it. A word with a similar feel is 덕질 (deokjil), which means passionately enjoying something you’re deeply into. 성지순례 is one way of putting that 덕질 into practice. And when you want to point out just the place itself, you can shorten it to simply 성지 (seongji). For example: “여기가 그 드라마 성지야. (yeogiga geu drama seongjiya.)”

Cultural Background

Much of what turned 성지순례 into a culture of its own comes from the power of the Korean Wave (Hallyu). When a single drama becomes a global hit, fans from all over the world flock to its filming locations. In fact, regional cities and local governments turn these locations into tourist attractions, putting up signboards and handing out maps. The romance on screen ends up moving real local economies.

At the same time, the word lives on vividly as an internet meme. When someone finds a post where an amazing feat was pulled off, or the very starting point of a ‘떡밥 (a lead/teaser)’ that will later become famous, people rush in and leave their mark with “성지순례 왔다 (came on a pilgrimage).” Offline or online, the root is the same: proving your love with your footsteps (or your clicks).

Closing Quiz

A friend says, “This weekend I’m going on a trip to the island where they filmed that drama!” How would you sum up this situation in one trendy word?

Answer: 성지순례 (seongjisullye) — a fan’s trip to deliberately seek out the settings of a beloved work!

Definitions and example sentences are from the National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr); that portion of this post, including our translations, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.