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U.S. nationals own nearly 6,000 apartments in Seoul, mostly in posh riverside districts

Published: 08 Oct. 2025, 13:12 Updated: 08 Oct. 2025, 16:53

Apartments along the Han River in Seoul are seen from Namsan Tower on Oct. 1. [NEWS1]

Nearly 6,000 apartments in Seoul are owned by Americans, most clustered along the Han River in the city’s most expensive neighborhoods.

Data from the Korea Real Estate Board, released by Democratic Party Rep. Jeong Jun-ho, show that U.S. nationals owned 5,678 apartments in Seoul as of the end of last year. Approximately 60 percent were located in the so-called Han River Belt, including districts such as Gangnam, Mapo, Yongsan and Seongdong.

Gangnam District had 1,028 units, Seocho 742 and Songpa 458, totaling 2,228 apartments in the three Gangnam districts alone.

Chinese nationals ranked second, but their holdings were concentrated elsewhere. They owned 610 units in Guro District, 284 in Yeongdeungpo District and 150 in Dongdaemun District. In the Gangnam area, they owned just 159 units.

They were followed by Canadians with 1,831 units, Taiwanese with 790 units, Australians with 500 units, and nationals from Britain, France and Germany with a combined 334 units. New Zealanders owned 229 units, and Japanese nationals owned 220.

Citing analysis from the Korea Institute of Construction Policy, Rep. Jeong said foreign ownership of real estate in Korea has split into two patterns: investment in high-end housing concentrated in Gangnam, and purchases for actual residence in areas such as Guro.

Many foreign owners of luxury apartments in the Han River Belt are believed to be of Korean descent holding foreign citizenship. In a tax probe last August, the National Tax Service found that 40 percent of 49 foreigners suspected of illegal property purchases were ethnically Korean.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM CHUL-WOONG [[email protected]]