Is Hyun Bin’s new penthouse a marital home for Son Ye-jin? The Crash Landing on You star’s agency might deny the rumours, but K-drama fans are still convinced we’ll hear wedding bells soon
There might be more to this theory than just fan gossip: a month after the news about the relationship broke, Ilyo Newspaper disclosed that Hyun bought a new penthouse. Could this be a marriage nest, perhaps?
Hyun’s agency, Vast Entertainment, swiftly quashed this idea by saying, “It was not bought as a marital home. We cannot confirm the details because this concerns a private residence.”
Despite the statement, plenty of fans are still convinced that the purchase means wedding bells will soon be ringing. Here’s everything we know about his penthouse so far.
His penthouse is worth US$4.3 million
From what we know so far, Hyun moved into a 2,600 sq ft penthouse in the Walkerhill Podoville housing estate in December 2020. The estate is located in Achiul Village, an eco-friendly neighbourhood in Guri, Gyeonggi province, near Seoul.
The penthouse is elegantly designed with a rooftop garden, plenty of open spaces, sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights while maintaining a very high level of privacy. It’s a modern home which has a sleek kitchen, while the master bedroom has a large walk-in wardrobe.
He has many celebrity neighbours
Achiul Village is famous for having many celebrity inhabitants, such as Park Jin-young – the CEO of JYP Entertainment – K-pop singer Jo Sung-mo and actress Oh Yeon-seo. Park introduced his Achiul Village penthouse in an episode of MBC’s Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education. Entertainer Yang Se-hyung, who once visited Park last year, said during the show that “Achiul is a really good location, so I even got real estate contact information”.
Oh, who has appeared in various popular dramas including Love with Flaws, A Korean Odyssey and Jang Bo-ri is Here!, might be Hyun’s closest new neighbour as she lives right below him.
The neighbourhood isn’t just attractive to pop stars and actors either. Many authors and visual artists live there, possibly because it’s private and quiet enough for them to focus on creating their works. These include writers Lee Hwa and the late Park Wan-suh, painter Lee Seong-ja, graphic artist Choi Ji-suk and hanbok designer Heo Young.
RiRi wouldn’t be the first couple to announce marriage after buying a home
It’s hard to shake off marriage rumours when even Korean media outlets have commented on how Hyun’s new penthouse seems too large for just one resident. Plus, over the years plenty of other Korean celebrities bought new penthouses after disclosing their relationships, then went on to announce wedding plans.
With such a precedent, no wonder the rumour mill is buzzing.
Hyun owns other properties
Hyun bought an entire building in Cheongdam-dong for US$4.3 million back in 2013. Just like Hannam-dong, Cheongdam-dong is known as an elite neighbourhood too. Hyun even spent another US$2.4 million to transform the old building into a comfortable modern residence. The building is famous for its outstanding facade, winning the 35th Seoul Architecture Awards’ Excellence Award in 2017. Its current market price is estimated to be about US$8.9 million.
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- Just a month after the ‘RiRi’ couple confirmed their relationship, reports emerged that Hyun bought a new US$4.3 million penthouse in Achiul Village
- K-pop’s Rain and Kim Tae-hee, and former ‘Song-Song’ couple Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki, did the ‘date, buy a home, get married’ dance, too