Girl Group Idol Makes Bank With A Surprising Second Career

A K-Pop girl group idol has shared her new life working a second career, surprising netizens with how much she makes from it.

On August 14th, the YouTube channel Human Story uploaded a video featuring EXID‘s Hyelin.

In the video, Hyelin is seen arriving at her taco restaurant, preparing food, and busily attending to customers.

Explaining her entry into the food business, Hyelin said, “Broadcasting has seasons of activity; even if you want to work, it’s not a job where you always can. So I looked for a way to have a steady income and a stable life.”

She revealed that the restaurant, which opened in March, earns about ₩140 million KRW (about $98,800 USD) per month on average. Hyelin said, “After all expenses, the profit is about ₩40.0 million KRW (about $28,200 USD),” and added, “It’s a bit overwhelming alone, so I operate it with help.”

The decisive turning point for her to enter the restaurant business came after a period of feeling lethargic.

Hyelin confessed, “I found myself thinking, ‘Why am I living? What do I like? What am I good at?’” She also said she sometimes couldn’t get out of bed until 3 or 4 p.m.

Later, she shared her experience: “If I put on my shoes and go out for even five minutes, I think, ‘Since I’m already out, why not walk for ten minutes?’” She emphasized, “Staying at home only makes things worse.”

She also touched on her troubled history with overseas activities. Hyelin said, “When I tried to promote in China, the THAAD controversy happened; when I was going to work in Japan, COVID-19 hit.” She confessed, “Opportunities to make money all slipped away, so I didn’t really earn much.”