Celebrity Real Estate: Idol Cash Purchases of Yongsan Land, Bank Loans Questioned

Young & Rich: No Loans Needed!

Popular K-pop girl groups are making waves in the global music scene and are now turning their attention to real estate investments.

(G)I-DLE’s Miyeon recently purchased a unit in Yongsan Central Park, located in Hangangro 3-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for ₩5.05 billion KRW (approximately $3.8 million USD), according to court registry documents. The purchase agreement was finalized on March 3rd.

Miyeon completed the ownership transfer on March 12th, paying the remaining balance. The absence of any mortgage registration on the deed suggests the transaction was made entirely in cash, without any financial loans.

Yongsan Central Park is a complex development consisting of apartments, officetels, and commercial facilities, with a maximum of 43 floors, 5 buildings, and a total of 1,140 units. It offers views of both the Han River and Yongsan Park, and boasts a prime location near Yongsan Station, which is connected to subway lines 1 and 4, as well as the KTX high-speed rail. Miyeon’s unit is on the 17th floor and has a floor area of 135 square meters. The previous reported sale price for a unit of this size was ₩4.3 billion KRW (approximately $3.2 million USD) in April 2024.

IVE’s Jang Wonyoung also headed to Yongsan. In March of last year, she purchased a unit in Lucid House in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul for ₩13.7 billion KRW (approximately $10.3 million USD). Similar to Miyeon, no mortgage registration was found on Jang Wonyoung’s property deed, suggesting a cash purchase.

Lucid House is considered one of the most luxurious villas in the UN Village, with initial sales prices exceeding ₩4 billion KRW (approximately $3 million USD) back in 2007. Comprising only 15 households in two buildings, it offers high exclusivity and features a 24-hour security system and individual elevators, ensuring strict security. Actress Kim Tae-hee also resided there before her marriage to Rain (Jung Ji-hoon).

BLACKPINK’s Jennie purchased a building in Yongsan. In May of last year, she acquired a building located in Dongbinggo-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul for ₩20 billion KRW (approximately $15 million USD), completing the ownership transfer in December of the same year. Real estate experts believe that Jennie also made a full cash purchase, as no mortgage registration was found on the property deed.

The building, constructed in 1970, has one basement floor and two above-ground floors, with a price per square meter of ₩111 million KRW. It is located in the northern part of Dongbinggo-dong, an area with a high concentration of ambassadorial residences, and is currently used as the Embassy of Iraq in Korea. In addition, Jennie leased an entire new building in Hannam-dong to set up the office for her one-person agency, Odd Atelier (OA), which has garnered significant attention. The monthly rent is reportedly over ₩60 million KRW (approximately $45,000 USD).