K-Drama Actors Who Own Million-Dollar Cafes and Restaurants

Behind your favourite K-drama scenes, actors are quietly playing the long game — one espresso shot, burger and bowl of lamb tripe at a time.

For many K-drama fans, visiting filming locations in Seoul is already a dream. But grabbing coffee or dinner at a place actually owned by your favourite actor? That’s another level of Hallyu fantasy — and for some stars, it’s also a smart way to build serious wealth.

In South Korea’s entertainment world, K-drama actors are increasingly putting their drama paycheques into brick-and-mortar food businesses. Between café chains, designer dining pubs and gallery cafés in ultra-pricey neighbourhoods, some of these ventures sit on properties easily worth millions of dollars.

This article takes a closer look at a few standout examples, how these “million-dollar cafés and restaurants” fit into the stars’ wider net worth, and what they tell us about the business side of K-drama fame. All figures mentioned are estimates based on publicly available reports and may not reflect the celebrities’ exact current wealth.

Why K-Drama Stars Love the Café and Restaurant Business

For actors whose income can fluctuate wildly from drama to drama, food and beverage (F&B) businesses offer three big advantages:

1. Prime real estate that appreciates over time
In Seoul, neighbourhoods like Sinsa-dong, Hannam-dong and Itaewon are among the most expensive in the country. Buying or renovating a building there often means holding an asset already valued in the multi-million-dollar range in Korean won, with potential for further appreciation.

2. Stable(ish) offline income
While dramas, CFs and endorsements rise and fall with trends, cafés and restaurants can generate daily, recurring revenue. Add a loyal fanbase willing to cross town (or fly in) just to visit, and you get built-in marketing that most businesses could only dream of.

3. Brand building beyond the screen
A beautifully designed café or restaurant acts as a real-world extension of an actor’s image. It’s a place fans can physically experience the lifestyle they associate with that star — from minimalist aesthetics to curated playlists and food.

With that in mind, let’s look at three of the most talked-about K-drama-adjacent food businesses that sit on million-dollar-level real estate or generate serious buzz.

Lee Jong Suk’s 89Mansion – When a Café Becomes a Multi-Million-Dollar Asset

Actor Lee Jong Suk, beloved for dramas like While You Were Sleeping and W: Two Worlds, didn’t just open a cute fan café — he effectively transformed an abandoned building into a multi-million-dollar investment.

From abandoned building to destination café

In 2016, Lee Jong Suk purchased an aging building in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, for about 3.9 billion won (roughly over US$3 million at the time). He renovated it extensively and launched 89Mansion, a sleek two-storey café and western-style restaurant. The first floor served coffee and desserts, while the upper level focused on full meals in a stylish, glass-fronted space that quickly became a fan pilgrimage spot.

Located in one of Seoul’s trendiest districts, the café became popular not just because of Lee’s name, but also thanks to its architecture: a modern black-and-glass exterior, clean lines and chic interiors that looked like a drama set come to life.

A profitable exit worth millions

The story gets even more interesting when you look at the numbers. In 2020, reports revealed that Lee Jong Suk sold the 89Mansion building for 5.95 billion won — about 2 billion won more than what he paid just four years earlier.

Even accounting for renovation and operating costs, that’s a hefty property gain on top of any profits the café and restaurant generated while open. Although 89Mansion eventually closed, the project shows how:

For Lee Jong Suk, 89Mansion functioned as both a fan hotspot and a savvy real-estate flip that likely contributed significantly to his wealth.

Yoo Ah-in’s TMI Dining Pub & Studio Concrete – Where Art, Food and High-End Property Meet

Yoo Ah-in, acclaimed for projects like Six Flying Dragons, Burning and Hellbound, is one of the clearest examples of a K-drama actor who has turned his creative reputation into high-value physical spaces.

Studio Concrete: a cultural complex with a café

In 2014–2015, Yoo Ah-in and a collective of artists founded Studio Concrete, a cultural complex housed in a remodelled old townhouse in Hannam-dong, one of Seoul’s most expensive neighbourhoods.

Studio Concrete functions as:

Beyond the café itself, the real estate is the real headline. A report on Mnet’s TMI News noted that Yoo Ah-in’s Itaewon/Hannam-area building (his home, separate from Studio Concrete but in the same ultra-high-end district) was purchased for about 5.8 billion won and later valued at around 8 billion won — roughly US$7 million. That illustrates just how pricey property in this area is, and by extension, how valuable a commercial-cultural space like Studio Concrete can be.

TMI Dining Pub: casual burgers, serious business

Yoo Ah-in also owns TMI (Too Much Information), a stylish casual dining pub in Itaewon. The venue is known for its minimalist interior, organic ingredients and a signature mushroom burger that’s famously meat-free but tastes like the real thing.

By day, TMI operates like a relaxed burger and shake spot, and by night it transforms into a bar offering cocktails, beer and late-night food — exactly the kind of hybrid concept that draws younger locals, tourists and fans.

Layered together, Yoo Ah-in’s food-and-culture businesses show:

Even if exact valuations of Studio Concrete and TMI aren’t public, the address alone suggests that they’re sitting on assets comfortably in the million-dollar range in property value.

Park Shin-hye and the Family Restaurant That Became a Fan Pilgrimage Spot

Park Shin-hye is one of K-drama’s most recognisable faces, thanks to hits like The Heirs, Pinocchio and Doctors. While she isn’t hands-on in the kitchen, she played a crucial role in her family’s food business — and turned it into a must-visit location for fans.

Yang Cheol Bok / Little Tin Drums

Park Shin-hye helped open Yang Cheol Bok, a lamb tripe and barbecue restaurant in Seoul’s Gangdong-gu, for her parents. The restaurant has been profiled repeatedly as “Park Shin-hye’s parents’ place,” making it a popular stop for both locals and overseas fans looking to eat where a top actress’ family cooks.

The menu focuses on lamb intestines and Korean BBQ, with a cosy, neighbourhood feel rather than a high-glam concept. That hasn’t stopped it from being fully booked during peak times, particularly when dramas featuring Park Shin-hye are airing and international visitors are in town.

A quieter but powerful wealth strategy

While the exact revenue of Yang Cheol Bok isn’t public, this kind of family-run restaurant has long-term upside:

Even though the restaurant is technically owned and run by her parents, Park Shin-hye’s involvement gave it a powerful brand boost — and by extension, it likely supports her family’s long-term financial security, which is a big part of how many Korean celebrities think about wealth.

What Makes These Cafés and Restaurants “Million-Dollar” Businesses?

When we talk about “million-dollar cafés and restaurants” for K-drama actors, we’re usually referring to a combination of:

1. Property value in ultra-prime districts

2. Strong brand power and fan demand
These venues attract a special mix of customers: regular locals plus fans willing to queue or travel for the experience. That increases turnover and keeps the brand in the spotlight on social media.

3. Cross-promotion with entertainment careers
Every new drama, film or endorsement can indirectly drive more diners to these businesses. Articles and variety shows frequently mention the cafés and pubs when profiling the actors, reinforcing the businesses’ value.

How Food Businesses Fit Into K-Drama Actors’ Overall Net Worth

For top K-drama stars, cafés and restaurants usually make up one piece of a much larger wealth puzzle that includes:

But food businesses are unique because they blend lifestyle, fandom and investment:

Of course, they also come with risk — high rent, staff costs and vulnerability to events like the COVID-19 pandemic. 89Mansion, for example, reportedly struggled during the pandemic and ultimately shut down, even though the building sale made a tidy profit.

For Fans: What It’s Like to Visit These Spots

If you’re planning a Hallyu-themed trip, cafés and restaurants connected to K-drama actors are some of the most immersive stops you can add to your itinerary.

Even if you never catch a glimpse of the stars themselves, visiting their businesses gives you a feel for how Korean celebrities translate their personal tastes and values into real-world spaces — and, in many cases, how they quietly grow their fortunes behind the scenes.

Final Thoughts: More Than Just Instagrammable Cafés

K-drama actors’ cafés and restaurants might look like fan service at first glance, but under the pretty interiors and latte art is a serious wealth strategy. By anchoring their brands in high-value neighbourhoods and memorable dining experiences, these stars build:

As with any net-worth discussion, it’s important to remember that exact figures are rarely confirmed by the celebrities or their agencies. The examples in this article are based on media reports and property estimates and should be seen as informational and entertainment content, not financial advice.

Still, one thing is clear: behind your favourite K-drama scenes, there’s a whole other world where actors are quietly playing the long game — one espresso shot, burger and bowl of lamb tripe at a time.

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