High-end residences thrive on exclusivity.

Since 2011, Piet Boon House at Oak Valley -- a resort complex in Wonju, Gangwon Province, that boasts the country’s largest golf course along with ski slopes -- is a private getaway frequented by a small but steady circle of high-net-worth individuals.

The upscale clientele have their every whim catered to at Piet Boon House, a three-story residence that charges them over $10,000 per night -- excluding dining, which is prepared by five-star hotel chefs, ready to roll out everything from one-bite dishes to full-course meals upon request at no modest extra cost.

Only up to four people may stay overnight at the two-bedroom residence, which comes with two living rooms, a dining room and a kitchen, as well as a pool and a terrace.

A condo complex nearby, also on the Oak Valley compound, can accommodate over 1,100 people.

The super wealthy jockeying for a stay at Piet Boon House could be looking for a chance to experience understated luxury, according to Piet Boon, a Dutch designer who runs the eponymous studio that designed the residence.

“I believe they continue to seek out an exclusive space like Piet Boon House because it offers a unique combination of understated luxury, timeless design and deeply personal connection,” Boon told The Korea Herald.

“Our homes are not just spaces to live in -- they are reflections of the people who inhabit them, tailored to their lifestyle and unique needs,” Boon added.

The three-story residence delivers both city and nature comforts, with a kitchen equipped with the latest cooking gear that opens right into a garden. A screening room that casts light onto the interior floors through picture windows is another shot at compromise between seclusion and sunshine.

“This level of personalization, paired with authenticity and lasting elegance, resonates with those who value exclusivity and seek a sanctuary that feels entirely their own,” Boon said.

Rendering the house artistically relevant appears to have helped the residence build its reputation for being not only exclusive but exquisite. For 10 years through 2021, Piet Boon House was a popular movie and TV set -- and it still is.

“Bogota: City of the Lost,” a crime film starring actor Song Joong-ki that just hit theaters last month, is the latest indication that, besides the ultrarich, directors and producers are eyeing the venue as well.

The pursuit of ultra-exclusivity by Hyundai Development Company Resort, the firm running the resort, has received recognition for other projects too.

In November, the company’s clubhouse at the luxury Seongmunan golf course was named best architecture of the year in an annual review by the Korean Institute of Architects.

Along with six other buildings, the Wonju-based clubhouse, established in 2022, demonstrated a “high level of architectural, technological and cultural achievement,” according to the local group.

The clubhouse has also won international recognition -- at the US-based Architecture Master Prize in 2023 and the UK-based Outstanding Property Award London the previous year.

The marquee space at the clubhouse is Fioretto, a fine-dining restaurant already famous not only for its iconoclastic takes on Italian classics, but for the rocky view that surrounds the restaurant. The restaurant’s picture windows, the height of at least a two-story building, make visitors think they are in the middle of a valley, according to one recent visitor.

“The view was the only reason my husband and I ventured out there,” said Park, a 40-something Seoulite and self-proclaimed foodie who regularly tours either Michelin-starred restaurants or some place high-end, usually at five-star hotels.

Park noted it was personal connections developed over the course of a meal that made her come to see the restaurant as exclusive -- though the restaurant is open to walk-ins.

“Just studying the landscape through the picture windows or artworks hanging around the restaurant triggered a trip down memory lane revisiting childhood,” Park said.

“I was thrown back into the time when I was a kid, confused and trying to make sense of things around me. It’s that acute nostalgia that renders this space so personal.”

This series looks at the latest lifestyle of the ultrarich. -- Ed.