South Korean actress Son Ye Jin is enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to her role in one of this year’s most popular K-dramas, Crash Landing on You, leading to more lucrative endorsement deals and thus one big, fat bank account.

Remember what we said about the rich only getting richer? Well, according to sources in South Korea’s real estate industry, back in July, Ye Jin bought a commercial building in the trendy Sinsa-dong neighbourhood — part of Seoul’s famous upscale Gangnam district — for 16bil won (about S$19mil).

The 38-year-old reportedly paid for the property with 4bil won (S$4.7mil) in cash and took out a loan for the remaining amount of 12bil won (S$14.2mil). Imagine having literally millions lying around like that.

The six-storey building has a floor area of 1,567 sqm and houses plastic surgery clinics, make-up stores, and beauty centres. The rent is estimated to be around 45mil won (S$53,400) a month, with a deposit fee of 500mil won (S$594,000).

Although the building is quite old — 22 years, to be exact — and has not been renovated, it has been well-maintained and is situated in a good location with a large floating population. Yup, Ye Jin will be rolling in rental income in no time.

This isn’t Ye Jin’s first rodeo in the world of property investment. In 2015, she bought another building in the Mapo-gu district for 9.35bil won (S$11.1mil) and resold it three years later for 13.5bil won (S$16mil), netting her a sweet profit of 4bil won (S$4.7mil). Guess we kinda know where part of the money she poured into her new venture came from.

In other news, filming for Ye Jin’s Hollywood debut Cross is set to begin in April next year, with director Andrew Niccol and the production team arriving in Korea recently to prepare for the shoot. Cross also stars Parasite’s Lee Sun Gyun and has a production budget of 36bil won (S$42.7mil), with an expected 2022 release date.

Photos: E-Daily, TPG, Son Ye Jin/Instagram