Key Takeaways
- EXID's Hyelin now runs a busy taco shop in Anguk, Seoul, pulling in about 140 million won (roughly $100,000) in monthly sales and around 40 million won (about $29,000) in net profit after expenses.
- She opened the restaurant in March after a two-year burnout where she questioned her purpose, finding new confidence and direction through a pandemic-era part-time job in the food industry.
- Despite seeking more stable income outside entertainment, Hyelin says she has not quit idol life, remaining active with EXID and as a DJ.
EXID's Hyelin isn't just a singer anymore — she’s also a taco shop owner.
The YouTube channel Human Story posted a video unveiling a closer look at Hyelin's taco shop in Anguk, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The camera caught her in an apron, checking orders, cooking, and serving customers during a packed lunch rush.
The numbers behind the operation are hard to argue with. "On average, it's about 140 million won per month," Hyelin said (according to Pannatic). "After all expenses, the net profit is around 40 million won." That works out to roughly $100,000 in gross monthly sales and about $29,000 in take-home profit after rent, labor, and other costs.
The shop opened earlier this year, in March. Back then, Hyerin posted about the restaurant, announcing: "I've done it! I've become a boss!"
Getting to that moment took years of working through something much harder. Hyerin described a burnout period of roughly two years during which she could not bring herself to get up before 3 or 4 P.M. She began questioning everything: "Why am I living? What do I like? What am I good at?"
"I had no reason to get up. I had lost my dream, but I still had to dream again," she said, per Chosun. Then I started thinking about what I had done besides dancing and singing, and what I had tried on my own."
A pandemic-era part-time job at a restaurant became the turning point. Working alongside people from entirely different walks of life productively unsettled her. "It was shocking that people were so happy while I had wasted that time so carelessly," she said. The experience eased a fear she had carried for years, that if entertainment dried up, she would have nothing else.
Hyerin was direct when asked whether she has stepped away from idol life. "No. I have not quit," she said, explaining that she remains an active member of EXID and as a DJ.
EXID's last full-length album, B.L.E.S.S.E.D., came out in 2020.
