{"id":587245,"date":"2026-08-17T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T08:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/587245\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T08:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T08:52:10","slug":"how-much-is-exids-hyelin-making-as-taco-shop-owner-in-central-seoul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/587245\/","title":{"rendered":"How much is EXID’s Hyelin making as taco shop owner in central Seoul?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"K-pop<\/p>\n

K-pop girl group EXID’s Hyelin \/ Captured from YouTube<\/p>\n

Hyelin of K-pop girl group EXID has revealed that she has become the owner of a taco restaurant, taking on the food service business in search of a more stable source of income. By running the restaurant herself, she said she has discovered new possibilities for her future.<\/p>\n

In a video titled \u201cWhy EXID\u2019s Once-Busy Hyelin Is Working at a Restaurant,\u201d uploaded to YouTube channel Human Story on Sunday, the K-pop idol shared she is currently operating a taco restaurant in Anguk-dong in central Seoul. \u201cI\u2019ve recently been working as a DJ and in musicals, and I\u2019m also the owner of a taco restaurant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Although she continues to pursue entertainment activities, Hyelin explained that she took up the restaurant business as a side job because income from broadcasting is not always consistent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are seasons when you\u2019re active in broadcasting, but it\u2019s not something you can simply choose to do whenever you want to work, so the income isn\u2019t regular,\u201d she said, adding that she began operating the restaurant as a way to build a more stable life.<\/p>\n

Hyelin said she decided to enter the food service industry through her connection with the owner of the taco brand. As it was her first time running a restaurant, she said she has been receiving help from the brand headquarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe headquarters sends us the prepared ingredients, and we just cook them according to the recipes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She opened the restaurant in March and has been operating it for about five months. \u201cThere are times when sales are good and times when they drop,\u201d she said. \u201cOn average, sales are about 140 million won ($98,000) a month, and after deducting everything, the net profit is about 40 million won ($28,000).\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyelin also explained why she decided to take on the challenge of starting a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve only ever done dancing and singing. That makes me feel insecure. I sometimes wonder, \u2018What will I do for a living if I can\u2019t do this anymore?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She described the restaurant as a source of hope. \u201cThis challenge gives me hope that says, \u2018No, you can do other things, too.\u2019 It was a new discovery about myself and a source of joy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her attitude toward work has also changed since entering the restaurant business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to overcome the perception that \u2018She\u2019s doing this because her other career didn\u2019t work out,\u2019\u201d Hyelin said. \u201cI think people in Korea tend to look negatively at celebrities doing other kinds of work. But this is simply one part of my work. I\u2019ve learned to let go of those kinds of judgments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyelin also spoke about her earnings during EXID\u2019s peak years. \u201cWe received 90 percent of our music revenue as a group,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t make as much as many people might think. We had 10 percent, but that was then divided among the five members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyelin debuted with EXID in 2012. The group rose to major popularity after its song \u201cUp & Down\u201d unexpectedly climbed the music charts. EXID went on to release a string of hit songs, including \u201cAh Yeah,\u201d \u201cHot Pink\u201d and \u201cDDD.\u201d In 2022, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary with the release of its full-group album \u201cX.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"K-pop girl group EXID’s Hyelin \/ Captured from YouTube Hyelin of K-pop girl group EXID has revealed that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-587245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}