From 1.66 billion won to 5 billion: The exclusive Han River villa that has captivated Korea's stars

Jamwon-dong in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is an affluent, apartment-dominated neighborhood packed with high-end complexes along the Han River — among them Maple자이, Otiere Sinbanpo and Acro Riverview. Yet tucked into one corner of this district sits a small enclave of luxury villas: three or four low-rise buildings housing fewer than 20 households in total. On a sliver of land adjoining the eastern side of the Jamwon Hangang Apartment complex and wedged against the southern interchange of Hannam Bridge, a private residential pocket has taken shape amid the towers. Within that enclave, Tierra House has long been the address of choice for wealthy buyers, prized for its absolute privacy and permanent Han River views.

Luxury villa built on a plot at the edge of the Banpo apartment district — home to numerous celebrities

Tierra House — its name combining the Spanish word for earth, "tierra," with the English "house" — was completed in 2003, making it a 24-year-old building. To understand how a luxury villa came to be built inside an apartment district in the early 2000s, one must trace the story back some 50 years to the earliest stages of Gangnam's development.

The site around 49 Jamwon-dong, where Tierra House now stands, was incorporated into the edge of the Banpo apartment district during the development of the Yeongdong District 2 zone in the 1970s. Although it was zoned for residential use, the land's position at the southern interchange of Hannam Bridge — and subsequent changes to the Olympic Expressway's access structure — left it too fragmented for a large apartment complex, and it survived as a collection of small plots.

Hanshin Construction, a mid-sized builder, developed the broad swath of land spanning Jamwon-dong and Banpo-dong from the 1970s through the 1990s, supplying the Sinbanpo 1st through 28th apartment series and building out a Hanshin brand town. The area around 49 Jamwon-dong was excluded from that development. In the early 2000s, developers emphasizing privacy and scarcity moved in and transformed the leftover plots into an upscale residential address.

Built to 15 floors above ground and two below, Tierra House is a single building with 15 households. Despite its small scale — fewer than 20 units — it is classified as an apartment under building law because it exceeds five stories. Every unit shares a single floor plan of 244 square meters (exclusive use area), and each floor is occupied by just one household. The building provides 54 parking spaces in total, an average of 3.6 per household.

The original pre-sale price has not been disclosed, but transactions recorded three years after move-in — at 2.17 billion won ($1.4 million) and 3.85 billion won in 2006 — suggest it was priced in the 2 billion won range. A property that commanded several billion won even two decades ago, Tierra House has held its value well, continuing to attract celebrity residents despite its age.

Tierra House is widely known to have been home to actor Song Hye-kyo in the early-to-mid 2000s, shortly after residents first moved in. Singer Kim Heung-guk also acquired a unit there, winning it at a court auction held at the Seoul Central District Court in November 2012. The appraised value at the time stood at 2.6 billion won — broken down as 780 million won for the land and 1.82 billion won for the building — but after two failed auction rounds, Kim secured the unit with a winning bid of 1.66 billion won. He held it for about five years before selling in 2017 for 2.4 billion won, netting a gain of roughly 700 million won.

Tierra House drew fresh attention in the mid-2010s as the home of actor Ha Jung-woo. Ha purchased a unit for 2.7 billion won in 2013 and lived there for about a decade before selling it in 2023 to Minho of SHINee for 5 billion won — a gain of 2.3 billion won over ten years. Minho's purchase made headlines because he paid the full amount in cash. Last year, Minho appeared on MBC's variety program "I Live Alone" and gave viewers a tour of his unit.

From the art world, Do Hyung-tae, president of Gallery Hyundai, purchased a unit for 2.58 billion won in 2021 and continues to hold it.

One household per floor — an unobstructed, permanent Han River view

Jamwon-dong is not the kind of luxury-villa enclave found in Cheongdam-dong, Nonhyeon-dong or the UN Village area of Hannam-dong. Yet Tierra House — where buyers and sellers alike have tended to be celebrities — has served for decades as a retreat for wealthy residents who prize their privacy. The reason lies in a combination of an unrivaled location and genuine scarcity.

① A design optimized for privacy — minimizing contact with neighbors

Tierra House's defining feature is its near-total separation from the outside world. With only 15 households spread across 15 floors, each floor belongs exclusively to one unit. The private living space begins the moment the elevator doors open, leaving almost no chance of crossing paths with other residents or outsiders.

② The 'panoramic Han River view' that even Minho praised — a permanent vista right on Hannamdae-ro

Across the large apartment complexes of Banpo and Jamwon, a Han River view can add hundreds of millions of won to an asking price. Tierra House offers that view permanently, which is a competitive edge unique to the building.

The very geographic quirk that once counted against the site — its position at the junction of the Olympic Expressway on-ramp and the southern Hannam Bridge interchange, which raised concerns about noise — has paradoxically become its greatest asset. No new building can ever rise in front of it, so residents are guaranteed a lifelong panoramic view taking in not only the Han River but also Namsan Tower on the far bank.

Minho, who purchased his Tierra House unit in 2023 and has lived there since, appeared on "I Live Alone" last year and said a view had never been his top priority when searching for a home — but the moment he saw it, he told his real estate agent on the spot that this was the one.

③ A transport hub linking Gangnam and Gangbuk — shared lifestyle zone with Apgujeong and Banpo

Although Tierra House sits administratively within Jamwon-dong, it is flanked by the lifestyle zones of Apgujeong-dong and Banpo-dong, both of which offer the core infrastructure of Gangnam. Hyundai Department Store and Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong are a ten-minute drive away, and the Apgujeong Rodeo shopping district is close at hand. Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch in Banpo is also reachable within ten minutes, and the building enjoys easy access to a range of amenities including the Express Bus Terminal shopping complex and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea.

Crossing Hannam Bridge, which sits directly in front of the building, leads straight into the Hannam-dong and Itaewon-dong area, and both the Olympic Expressway and Gangbyeon Expressway are easily accessible, making travel across Seoul convenient.

With privacy, a permanent Han River view, and strong transport and lifestyle access all working in its favor, listings at Tierra House rarely come to market. Local agents say the small unit count is part of the reason, but resident satisfaction runs high. The head of a real estate agency near Jamwon Hangang Apartment said listings almost never appear and that the vast majority of residents have stayed since they first moved in.

The most recent transaction was Minho's 2023 purchase at 5 billion won, which remains the all-time high for the building. No units are currently listed for sale, and the asking price for jeonse listings stands at around 3.5 billion won. Past lease contracts show that monthly rent was already steep as far back as 2019 — seven years ago — at a deposit of 100 million won and monthly payments of 10 million won. A jeonse contract was signed last October at a deposit of 4.3 billion won.