What’s special about the $37,000 postnatal suite popular among Korean celebrities including Lee Si-young?

Lee Si-young / Captured from Lee's social media

Actress Lee Si-young has welcomed her second child — and the lavish postnatal care center where she is staying is drawing wide attention in Korea.

On Wednesday, Lee shared the news on her personal Instagram, writing, “I believe this is a gift from God to a mother. I’ll make sure Jung-yoon (her first son) and Siksiki (the second baby’s nickname) live happily forever.” The accompanying photo showed Lee beaming as she held her newborn daughter in her arms.

Soon after her post, Korean media outlets and online communities began buzzing over the facility where she is recovering. The postnatal care center, located in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam District, is also known as the “Ko So-young center,” named after actress Ko So-young who once stayed there with her husband, actor Jang Dong-gun.

Over the years, the center has hosted numerous celebrity couples including Lee Min-jung and Lee Byung-hun, Han Ga-in and Yeon Jung-hoon, Lee Bo-young and Ji Sung, Park Shin-hye and Choi Tae-joon, and Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin.

With a private garden, luxury furnishings and high-end amenities, the facility stands apart from typical postnatal centers. The Presidential Suite, where Lee is believed to be staying, reportedly costs 50.4 million won ($37,000) for a two-week stay — roughly 3.6 million won per day. Adding newborn care services raises the cost by an additional 6 million won. The country’s most expensive facility of its kind, it even provides imported limousine services upon arrival and discharge.

Lee Si-young / Xportsnews

Lee, who married a businessman nine years her senior in 2017, shares one son with her ex-husband. The actress announced their divorce in March, shocking fans shortly afterward by revealing she had conceived her second child through an embryo transfer made before the divorce — without her former husband’s consent.

At the time, Lee said, “Although the other party did not agree, I take full responsibility for my decision. There may be many challenges ahead, but I believe this choice holds greater meaning for me.”

She added, “I will humbly accept any criticism or advice, and I’ll raise this baby with gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility, ensuring she never feels lacking even though I’m doing it alone.”

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.