South Korean entertainment has gained a new generation of fans from all over the globe. Everything from K-pop and K-drama to K-beauty and K-fashion have inspired many and become integrated into Western mainstream culture. And it’s not just everyday people who are enamoured with the country: members of the ultra-rich find South Korean culture fascinating, too.
Netflix’s hit reality show Super Rich in Korea, released earlier this month, follows the trajectories of five wealthy individuals from diverse backgrounds with an affinity for all things South Korea – including some who’ve gone out of their way to relocate to the country, leaving behind their successful and ultra-luxe lives back home.
Hosted by Cho Sae-ho, BamBam and Mimi, the show follows the elite five as they traverse Seoul, embrace South Korean culture and navigate the dating scene.
The producers of Super Rich in Korea revealed that selecting the cast was one of the most challenging aspects of putting together the show. Aren Yoo Hee-ra, Noor Naim, Anna Kim, David Yong and Teodoro Marani became the winning team that has turned audiences onto the show as they offer insight into the lives of the rich and famous in one of Asia’s most happening cities.
Read on to learn about the five cast members.
1. Aren Yoo Hee-ra
The only Korean cast member, Aren Yoo Hee-ra is a fashionista described as a client ambassador for luxury brands. A regular on the international fashion circuit, the influencer has been seen rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bruno Mars and Kim Kardashian.
Yoo has been seen in custom designs from brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi, and sits on the front row of fashion shows including Miuccia Prada’s Miu Miu. The 24-year-old – who has been called “the Paris Hilton of South Korea” – studied hotel management at Cornell University.
2. Noor Naim
A powerhouse in the Middle Eastern beauty industry, Noor Naim, 27, loves to share her looks with her nearly 15 million Instagram followers. The self-made internet personality also has a successful YouTube channel. She produced her first video for YouTube in 2014, and was the first Arabian content creator to reach 10 million subscribers. She was reportedly born in Iraq, raised in Syria, and moved to Turkey and then the US with her family.
3. Anna Kim
A Pakistani noblewoman, Anna Kim’s family moved to South Korea when she was five years old, according to English-language Pakistani newspaper Dawn. She chose the common South Korean surname Kim for herself when she became a Korean national, per the same source. Kim relocated back to Pakistan after marrying a Pakistani man. An entrepreneur and investor, her ventures include Anna Korea Beauty, a brand that brings Korean skincare to Pakistan.
4. Teodoro Marani
Now in his fourth year living in South Korea, Teodoro Marani is an F&B importer who’s also a chef and a restaurant manager. Hailing from Italy, Marani has been met with a stern injunction from his father to return home and tend to the family fashion business. Viewers were touched by Marani’s perseverance and desire to build a life for himself in Seoul. The stylish 28-year-old’s father is the CEO of Italian apparel and leather goods brand Henry Beguelin.
5. David Yong
Singaporean businessman David Yong’s passion for K-pop also brought him to South Korea, according to his website, where he actively invested in the country’s music industry in an effort to break onto the scene as an artist. He eventually made his K-pop debut at age 34, in 2022. The now-37-year-old CEO of Evergreen Group Holdings is also a venture capitalist whose business spreads across Asia, with stakes in Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and his home nation. The University of Bristol Law School graduate is the managing partner of a boutique law firm too.