8 Korean Female Idols Who Can Retire Comfortably Now

A 13-year-old BoA debuted in 2000 as a soloist, and immediately became a hot topic in South Korea due to her young age. She became one of the first K-pop stars to gain success in Japan, and all across Asia. At the age of 20, she once purchased a building for about 1 billion won (S$1.2 mil) and now the price of the building has risen to approximately 3 billion won (S$3.6 mil). In 2007, she had the fourth highest salary in the whole of South Korea and was the only woman in the Top 10. Today, 18 years on, her career is still going strong. Recently, her net worth was estimated to be about US$14.5 million (S$19 mil). Hey, she’s not called the Queen of K-pop for nothing, okay?

At the age of 15, Jiyoung made her showbiz debut as a member of now-defunct K-pop girl group KARA. They became K-sensations in Korea and around Asia thanks to their booty-shaking dance in songs like ‘Honey’ and ‘Mister’. Just in the year 2011 alone, KARA earned 730 bil won (S$890 mil). Since leaving the band in 2014 (KARA officially disbanded in 2016), Jiyoung has been pursuing an acting career in Japan.

At the age of 15, IU debuted as a solo singer with ‘MIA’. It was met with lukewarm response due to the fact that she was a kid singing a sad love ballad. Only when she turned on the cute factor with her second album Growing Up, did people start to sit up and take notice. The singer-songwriter is more than just a pretty face - she writes and produces her own songs. Royalties aside, she’s also an advertisers’ darling. Up till last year, she has filmed 44 advertisements, fronting everything from fried chicken to cosmetics to clothing. Her endorsement fee for each ad is reportedly about 1 billion won (S$1.2 mil).

In 2010, at the age of 17, Hyeri got her start as part of K-pop girl group Girl’s Day. In 2014, Hyeri earned 1 billion won (S$1.2 mil) from endorsement fees, and even bought a new house. Despite being the youngest member, Hyeri is said to be the richest in the group, thanks to her appearances in military-themed variety show Real Men and hit drama Reply 1988. She earned the nickname “10 billion won girl” after filming 30 advertisements. Hyeri has said in a previous interview that that was the amount her agency, Dream Tea Entertainment made, but admits that she received “a large cut of the profits”. With 25 commercial films (CFs) under her belt in the year 2016 alone, Hyeri was crowned the new Queen of CFs, replacing Suzy, whom at the height of her popularity (and before news broke that she was dating Lee Min Ho) filmed 25 commercials in 2014.

At the age of 17, Suzy debuted as part of now-defunct K-pop girl group miss A. Following her roles in hit idol drama Dream High and movie Architecture 101, Suzy experienced a sharp spike in popularity and became known as the “Nation’s First Love”. Her fresh, youthful looks, coupled with her sassiness, made her an advertiser’s darling. Having filmed 25 commercial films in 2014, she was once the top dog when it came to endorsements. In 2013, her income from endorsement fees was reportedly 10 billion won (S$12 mil). In 2014, after filming 25 commercials, Suzy was nicknamed the “10 billion won girl”. However, in 2015, news that she was dating K-heartthrob Lee Min Ho (Suzy and Min Ho broke up but have reportedly reconciled), as well as her box office flop Dorihwaga, put a dent in her commercial appeal.

As a member of K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation aka one of the best-selling and most popular K-pop groups of all time, YoonA’s estimated earnings from album sales and concerts over the past 10 years are unsurprisingly huge. In 2014, Girls’ Generation reportedly earned around 22 billion won (S$27 mil), and each of the members received at least 900 million won (S$1.1 mil). Besides her income from group activities, YoonA is also an advertiser’s darling. In just the first half of 2012, she shot a total of 20 ads, and reportedly raked in about 4 billion won (S$4.9 mil). She also appeared in 2016 Chinese historical drama God of War, Zhao Yun, which was a massive hit, and she reportedly received 3 billion won ($3.6 mil) in appearance fees.

With earnings estimated at over 1 billion won (S$1.2 mil) a year, Taeyeon is the highest-earning Girls’ Generation member. In 2015, the singer revealed on a variety show that she had gifted her parents with an apartment with three bathrooms in her hometown of Jeonju in 2012. At that time, that apartment was reportedly the most expensive in the whole of Jeonju. The current price of that apartment is reportedly 900 million won (S$1.1 mil). The singer also drives a 100 million won (S$1.2 mil) Mercedes-Benz.

In 2012, the former KARA member bought a single-family home in the Cheongdam-dong district in Seoul valued at 1.1 billion won (S$1.3 mil). Three years later, she sold the property at 2.08 billion won (S$2.5 mil) and bought another house that costs 3.2 billion won (S$3.9 mil). That’s not all. In 2015, she bought a four-storey building in Seoul’s Nonhyeon-dong for 3.2 billion won (S$3.9 mil) and sold it in 2017 for 3.8 billion won (S$4.6 mil). That’s not including the 400 million won ($4.9 mil) she pocketed from two years of rent. Is Goo Hara the real estate queen or what?