Ever since PSY's international mega-hit "Gangnam Style" in 2012, people all over the world have heard the name of Seoul's most affluent district, Gangnam. The area is called "the Beverly Hills of South Korea" .While the district is an economic hub for some of the most powerful companies globally, including Google, IBM, and Toyota, its real heart is its residential areas, where the deposit to rent a home costs 10 years of salary for the average Korean. Living in Gangnam — and more specifically living in the Gangnam neighborhoods of Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong — is a status symbol that many Koreans aspire to. Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong are home to many Korean actors, actresses, and idols, miles of luxury retail, a wild nightlife, and Korea's biggest entertainment companies.

Jacobs, Harrison and Lansat, Myelle, "I visited the notoriously ritzy 'Beverly Hills of Seoul' where the streets are lined with Teslas, Maseratis, and Porsches". Business Insider, June 22, 2018, pp.1-2.

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