Rapper Noel sports W100m Rolex but pushes back on 'rich kid' image

Noel (24), a rapper and son of the late former Assembly member Jang Je-won, showed off luxury accessories worth around 100 million won ($74,000) in a recent video — but pushed back when asked about his image as a privileged son of wealth.

A video titled "Men's Drinking Party" was posted Saturday on the YouTube channel "Good Guys." In it, Noel introduced his outfit of the day ahead of a gathering with fellow rapper Han Yo-han and others.

Noel wore an all-black look, pairing a shirt he said he had bought from a budget clothing website five years ago and black trousers with a Chrome Hearts belt.

His accessories drew particular attention. Noel wore a Rolex Day-Date — a Swiss luxury watch with a market price of around 100 million won — along with rings and earrings. He said the tennis chain necklace he had on was purchased at a jewelry shop in Seocho-dong that his mother had told him offered steep discounts.

When Han Yo-han remarked, "You look like a refined rich kid — wasn't that always your life?" Noel immediately waved off the suggestion. "It's not like that," he said.

Noel has also personally denied online allegations that he owns a building worth around 100 billion won and evaded taxes worth hundreds of billions of won.

During a live broadcast on Sept. 19, a viewer asked why he had evaded 20 billion won in taxes. "I don't have 20 billion won," Noel said. He then added, "Can someone go to Namu Wiki and delete that. It says I own a 100 billion won building — if I had 100 billion won, why would I be making music?" He said the claims were false.

When Noel's assets were disclosed as part of his father's Assembly member financial filings, they stood at 55 million won in 2018. The following year, they grew to 234 million won after he received unlisted shares as a gift from his grandmother, who runs a real estate rental business, and sold them.

Born in 2000, Noel first made a name for himself in 2017 through appearances on Mnet's "High School Rapper" and "Show Me the Money 6."