The Priests — Filming Locations & Real Places

After The Priests, that Myeongdong Cathedral scene keeps coming back to me.

Turns out that cathedral wasn't in Seoul.

Much of the aerial footage and interior scenes were actually filmed at Gyesan Cathedral in Daegu. Because its exterior resembles Myeongdong Cathedral, the film intercuts footage from both to form a single on-screen 'Myeongdong Cathedral' — the director confirmed this directly in an interview.

The narrow alley Deacon Choi walks through is the same trick — Daegu's Dongseong-ro alley, cut together with a Myeongdong-8-gil alley in Seoul.

대구 동성로 거리 풍경 · Wikimedia Commons

Gyesan Cathedral itself isn't a set, though — it's the real thing. Built in 1902-1903, Korea's third Gothic cathedral, and mass is still held there today.

As for the story itself: it starts with Young-shin, a high schooler left comatose after a car accident. Father Kim becomes convinced this isn't just a medical condition but a case of severe possession, and starts preparing an unofficial exorcism without any formal church approval.

The seminarian he recruits, Choi Jun-ho, has his own backstory — a childhood trauma of losing his younger sister, which later ties directly into why he flees the ritual in fear and then comes back.

Before the two priests even step in, there's actually another attempt first: a traditional shamanic ritual called daesalgut. It fails, leaving the two priests alone to prepare the final exorcism.

That last night takes place at Gyesan Cathedral, standing in for 'Myeongdong Cathedral' onscreen. Knowing that this dangerous, all-night ritual was filmed inside a real, century-old cathedral changes the way the scene feels.

대구 동성로 거리 풍경(2010년) · Wikimedia Commons

The story doesn't end with the film, either. In the 2025 official sequel Dark Nuns, Kang Dong-won's Deacon Choi reappears in a cameo, confirming the two films share the same '12 Shapes' mythology.

The cast deserves its own mention too — Kim Yoon-seok as Father Kim, Kang Dong-won as Deacon Choi, and Park So-dam (who won a Baeksang Best New Actress award for this role) as Young-shin. Their dense, controlled performances carry the film all the way through.

Knowing the dark exorcism scenes were shot in a real, century-old cathedral changes the air of the film a little on a rewatch.

Just going to see Gyesan Cathedral's lit-up spires after dark is enough to actually feel the film's atmosphere in person.

I won't spell out exactly what choice Choi Jun-ho makes at the very end here — but just knowing the room where it happens wasn't a set, but a real hundred-year-old cathedral, is enough to make the film hit completely differently.