Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

5 K-drama actresses who married ultra-rich husbands: from Jun Ji-hyun and Claudia Kim, to ‘Korean Barbie doll’ Han Chae-young, Lee Si-young and Shin Joo-ah

Find out which Korean actresses married into an ultra-rich family. Photos: @SBSfunE/Twitter, Huayi Brothers Korea/Handout, @claudiashkim/Instagram
If you’re a K-drama fan, you’ve probably swooned over the heart-fluttering romantic moments in your favourite shows. But Korean actresses often live out their own versions of these scenes in real life, with glamorous weddings and even lavish proposals from their wealthy beaus.

Meet five Korean actresses who made headlines when they tied the knot with some of the country’s richest men.

1. Jun Ji-hyun

Jun Ji-hyun is one of Korea’s favourite actresses. Photo: @kdramadash/Twitter
In 2012, one of Korea’s all-time favourite actresses and CF queen Jun Ji-hyun married Choi Joon-hyuk, whom she knew since junior school. Her husband comes from a prestigious family – his grandmother Lee Young-hee was a famous hanbok designer and his grandfather ran a steel business.
A screenshot from the TV Chosun show Star Documentary My Way, showing Jun Ji-hyun’s husband Choi Joon Hyuk (far right). Photo: TV Chosun

After working for Bank of America, he joined his family business and became CEO and later largest shareholder of Alpha Assets in 2020. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, business is booming as sales revenues increased by seven times to 10.9 billion South Korean won (US$9.1 million) a year after he took the lead.

What’s more than K-drama-like is his proposal: he took Jun to Japan for a surprise trip and popped the question. Also, we can’t not point out that he has the looks of an actor too.

How Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin’s net worths will double when they get married

2. Soo-hyun

Soo-hyun, aka Claudia Kim. Photo: @claudiashkim/Instagram

Soo-hyun, also known by her English name Claudia Kim, rose to fame after her Hollywood roles in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. She married Korean-American businessman Cha Min-geun (also known as Matthew Shampine) who used to be the general manager of WeWork Korea.

Claudia Kim with her husband Cha Min-geun. Photo: @mjshampine/Instagram

According to Korea’s JoongAng Daily, he joined WeWork at the very beginning and rose to directing the start-up in Korea. The couple had their wedding at Shilla Hotel, which is known as one of the most expensive wedding venues in the country.

3. Han Chae-young

“Korean Barbie doll” Han Chae-young met her husband before she was famous. Photo: @han_chae_young/Instagram

Dubbed “Korean Barbie doll”, Han Chae-young became popular after acting in the 2005 drama series Delightful Girl Chun-hyang. In 2007, she married Korean-American businessman Choi Dong-joon who comes from a wealthy financier family. Choi is known to the public as the vice-president of Medcare Korea and CEO of a tech company HBK.

Han Chae-young and her husband Choi Dong-joon out on a date. Photo: Mnet K-pop/YouTube

Just like Jun and her husband, the pair knew each other before Han’s acting debut in 2000, meeting in 1998, when they were both in the US, according to her agency.

6 K-pop idols who are ‘human luxury brands’, from V to Jennie

Choi’s big marriage proposal also made headlines as he spent around 7 billion South Korean won (almost US$6 million), gifting her a five carat diamond ring and a luxurious sports car. After a lavish wedding, the pair moved into a 5,000 sq ft marital home in Cheongdam-dong.

4. Lee Si-young

Lee Si-young is popular on social media. Photo: @leesiyoung38/Instagram

Lee Si-young is one of the most social media savvy actresses out there and has more than 10 million followers on Tiktok, the first Korean actress to achieve that number. And while Lee keeps up with social media trends, her husband Cho Seung-hyun has a similarly savvy business sense: he is the owner of a successful restaurant franchise. Cho built his business from the ground up during his 20s and saw a yearly sales revenue of around 2.5 billion Korean won (around US$2.13 million) in 2021, according to Chosun Ilbo.

Lee Si-young at her wedding to her husband Cho Seung-hyun. Photo: Huayi Brothers Korea/Handout

His F&B business includes a rooftop bar in Cheongdam-dong, a Korean barbecue restaurant and more. He even opened a salad shop for his wife! The couple tied the knot in 2017 while Lee was 14 weeks into her pregnancy.

5. Shin Joo-ah

Shin Joo-ah now lives in Thailand with her family. Photo: @shinjooah/Instagram

After making her television debut in 2004, Shin Joo-ah grabbed the media’s attention when she married a second-generation Chinese-Thai tycoon in 2014. After meeting her husband Sarawut Rachanakul through a mutual friend while she was travelling, they connected quickly – thanks to her husband’s caring personality, according to Shin’s past interviews.

6 beauty secrets to Son Ye-jin’s age-defying looks at 40

A photograph that Shin Joo-ah shared of her wedding. Photo: @shinjooah/Instagram

With her husband’s successful family business – JBP International Paint – Shin now lives in Thailand and often shares her luxurious lifestyle and the family’s grand mansion on her social media.

Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
  • K-drama darling Jun Ji-hyun tied the knot with Choi Joon-hyuk, who is now the CEO of Alpha Assets – but the pair knew each other from their junior school days
  • Claudia Kim, the star of Hollywood blockbusters Avengers and Harry Potter’s Fantastic Beasts, wed the former GM of WeWork Korea, Matthew Shampine