K-Pop has become an industry worth over ₩6.90 trillion KRW (about $5.14 billion USD).
With this said, it isn’t surprising that many K-Pop artists are able to afford a life of optimum luxury. Idols and Korean celebrities often make headlines for their uber luxury real estate purchases and latest super-cars.
Singer IU is not an exception. One of K-Pop’s most successful artists in the industry’s history, her real estate portfolio has been revealed, and many fans are in awe at her wealth.
The August 31 episode of Mnet‘s TMI NEWS revealed the celebrities with the most expensive “second-home” in their real estate portfolio, and the singer ranked second on the list.
According to the show, the singer’s Eterno Cheongdam home in the glitzy Cheongdam neighborhood in Gangnam is worth a whopping ₩13.0 billion KRW (about $9.69 million USD). What’s more, it is said that IU purchased the property in cash.
The singer owns a property in Gyeonggi-do that she uses as her studio, which was revealed to be worth ₩4.60 billion KRW (about $3.43 million USD). The singer was initially criticized for purchasing the property when netizens alleged the singer bought the property due to speculation that it would become more valuable. All this changed, however, when it was revealed IU had bought the studio for struggling artists and singers in the area who needed a place to record.
It was also revealed in the episode that the idol owned a vacation home in the Yangpyeon district of Gyeonggi-do province, worth ₩2.20 billion KRW (about $1.64 million USD). The vacation home is reported to have been bought for her family members, and she had spent an extra ₩800 million KRW (about $596,000 USD) to buy up land surrounding the property.
IU is one of K-Pop’s penultimate singers. The idol, who debuted in 2007, has since sold over 120 million paid digital downloads and over a million albums — which is unheard of for a solo singer. Not only does the idol spend her money on incredible real estate properties, but she is also one of Korea’s most well-known donors to charities. According to a Hankyung article in 2021, the idol is said to have donated over ₩5.50 billion KRW (about $4.10 million USD) to charities in the span of her career.
