Cover Kim Namjoon, known professionally as RM of BTS, photographed for RM x SFMOMA, opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October 2026. His Hannam-dong home, widely cited as an influence on Seoul’s chaebol interior design aesthetic, contains more than 100 works of modern and contemporary Korean art (Photo: SFMOMA)
Kim Namjoon, known professionally as RM of BTS, photographed for RM x SFMOMA, opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October 2026. His Hannam-dong home, widely cited as an influence on Seoul’s chaebol interior design aesthetic, contains more than 100 works of modern and contemporary Korean art (Photo: SFMOMA)
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South Korea’s business dynasties and K-pop elite are redefining chaebol interior design, replacing gilded interiors with gallery-like spaces anchored by Dansaekhwa paintings, investment-grade furniture, and the Korean philosophy of bi-um
In the early 2000s, a chaebol home announced itself through sheer weight. Heavy velvet drapes, Italian marble floors, gold-leafed European furniture: wealth made literal, mirroring the sprawling corporate dynasties that produced it.
Behind the hyper-secured gates of Hannam-dong and Cheongdam-dong, that grammar is changing. The younger generation of South Korea’s business families, and the newly minted royalty of K-pop, are stripping away the gilding. In its place: austere, light-filled interiors that prioritise architectural silhouette over brand-name flash.
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The Leeum effect
Above The Leeum Museum of Art, Hannam-dong, Seoul. Designed by Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel, and Rem Koolhaas, the Samsung-founded institution has become the benchmark for serious art collecting in South Korea (Photo: iStock)
The Leeum Museum of Art, Hannam-dong, Seoul. Designed by Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel, and Rem Koolhaas, the Samsung-founded institution has become the benchmark for serious art collecting in South Korea (Photo: iStock)
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The shift traces back to 2021 and the death of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. When his family donated more than 23,000 artworks, including a Monet water lily painting and works by Korean modern masters such as Kim Whanki, Park Soo-keun, and Lee Jung-seob, to the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the effect on private collecting was immediate. Art shifted from a marker of personal taste to a public benchmark of cultural pedigree, and the home followed. The goal, among those who could afford it, was no longer a house that looked like a palace. It was a house that functioned like the Leeum, Samsung’s celebrated private museum in Hannam-dong, whose holdings of Korean and international art have long set the standard for serious collecting in the country.
Above Part of the Samsung family collection, the six-panel folding screen “Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks” symbolises the majesty of the Joseon royal court (Photo: National Museum of Korea)
Part of the Samsung family collection, the six-panel folding screen “Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks” symbolises the majesty of the Joseon royal court (Photo: National Museum of Korea)
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In elite developments like Nine One Hannam and UN Village, interior walls are no longer treated as partitions but as museum-grade surfaces. Massive, unadorned expanses of pale grey concrete or textured Hanji (mulberry paper) are engineered to hold large-scale Dansaekhwa paintings, the meditative monochromes that have become the blue-chip asset of choice for the Korean collecting class.
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Signed architecture
Above Eterno Cheongdam, Seoul, designed by Spanish Pritzker laureate Rafael Moneo. In March 2026, a single unit in the 29-apartment tower was valued at 32.57 billion won, making it South Korea's most expensive residential address for the second consecutive year
Eterno Cheongdam, Seoul, designed by Spanish Pritzker laureate Rafael Moneo. In March 2026, a single unit in the 29-apartment tower was valued at 32.57 billion won, making it South Korea's most expensive residential address for the second consecutive year
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The gallery aesthetic extends to the real estate itself. For years, luxury was defined by the size of the penthouse. Now it is defined by its architect.
In March 2026, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released its annual public housing price assessment, naming Eterno Cheongdam as South Korea’s most expensive apartment for the second consecutive year. A single unit there has been valued at 32.57 billion won (approximately $24 million).
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Above Actor Song Joong-ki, is a resident of Eterno Cheongdam in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul (Photo: Viu)
Above Singer and actress IU, known professionally as Lee Ji-eun, is another high-profile resident of Eterno Cheongdam (Photo: Getty Images)
Actor Song Joong-ki, is a resident of Eterno Cheongdam in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul (Photo: Viu)
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What distinguishes Eterno isn’t only its Han River outlook, but its authorship: it is the first residential project in South Korea designed by Spanish Pritzker laureate Rafael Moneo, characterised by geometric precision and an almost severe quality of natural light. Comprising only 29 units, it counts singer IU and actor Song Joong-ki among its residents.
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The collected interior
Above The Kangaroo Chair by Pierre Jeanneret, designed for the government buildings of Chandigarh, India, in the 1950s
The Kangaroo Chair by Pierre Jeanneret, designed for the government buildings of Chandigarh, India, in the 1950s
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Within these spaces, the furniture is equally considered. The younger elite have largely moved on from ornate European luxury catalogues in favour of mid-century modernism treated as a long-term asset class.
Seoul has emerged as a serious market for works by Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, and Pierre Jeanneret. A Jeanneret “Chandigarh” chair, once a utilitarian object made for Indian government offices, now regularly sells for $50,000 or more.
Above Kim Namjoon , known professionally as RM of BTS, in a promotional image for RM x SFMOMA, opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October 2026 (Photo: SFMOMA)
Kim Namjoon , known professionally as RM of BTS, in a promotional image for RM x SFMOMA, opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in October 2026 (Photo: SFMOMA)
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The aesthetic has a prominent champion in Kim Namjoon, known professionally as RM of BTS, whose Hannam-dong home was glimpsed in a 2022 vlog on the official BANGTANTV channel: 102 catalogued works of art, Jeanneret Kangaroo chairs and a bench. His collection of modern and contemporary Korean art, centred on painters such as Yun Hyong-keun, will be shown publicly for the first time at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from October 2026.
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Bi-um
Above A visualisation of the emerging chaebol interior aesthetic, characterised by pale stone surfaces, mid-century seating, and large-scale monochrome art against Han River views
A visualisation of the emerging chaebol interior aesthetic, characterised by pale stone surfaces, mid-century seating, and large-scale monochrome art against Han River views
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Underlying all of this is the Korean philosophical concept of bi-um, “meaningful emptiness.” Unlike Western minimalism, which can tip into the clinical, bi-um draws on the Joseon-era scholar aesthetic, where space is left open to invite light, air, and the occupant’s spirit.
In a culture that is relentlessly competitive and visually saturated, the ultimate luxury for the 0.1% has become the ability to live in a void.
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
