Shin Jung-hwan says he earns nothing despite W100m in monthly restaurant sales

Shin Jung-hwan, 52, a broadcaster and former member of the duo Country Kko Kko, opened up about the gap between his restaurant's sales figures and his actual take-home income, saying he intends to "focus on the present rather than past glories."

A video titled "Human Story of Shin Jung-hwan and Tak Jae-hoon [Country Kko Kko]" was posted Tuesday to the YouTube channel "Human Story." The clip showed Shin running a grilled chicken restaurant near Gunja-dong in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, with fellow entertainer Tak Jae-hoon paying a visit.

Shin had previously revealed in an April broadcast that the restaurant hit monthly sales of 100 million won ($73,900) within about a month and a half of opening — a figure that drew attention because he said he had done no separate promotion.

In the new video, however, Shin pushed back on that impression. "After that broadcast, people seem to think I'm making a ton of money," he said, adding that the reality is quite different.

"The money that went into setting up the place — interior work, staff salaries, training costs, ingredients — it's a lot," he said. "And because this is near Gunja Station in Seoul, the monthly rent is not cheap either."

"I'm still far from there. Right now I haven't received even 10 won in net payouts," he said. "I'm grateful for the strong sales, but I keep reinvesting everything."

In addition to that restaurant, Shin also runs a raw fish restaurant in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. The video showed that location packed with customers well into the early morning hours, and his business partner said September sales were on track to reach between 120 million and 130 million won.

Shin also gave an update on his broadcasting activities, noting he has been working as an MC on a live streaming channel called "Excel Broadcasting."

"Apart from the restaurant, I don't really have other broadcast work," he said. "By chance I got an opportunity to do live broadcasts with some younger people, and I thought, 'There's actually a place that wants me' — so I happily agreed and threw myself into it. The hiatus and the time I spent lying low were both long, and I felt a great deal during that period."

"If a new opportunity comes my way, I told myself: 'Even if I fall, see it through to the end,'" he said. "Live streaming has a certain negative image, but I'm working hard to show what a genuine entertainer can bring to it."

Reflecting on being in his 50s, Shin said that if he could go back, he would "keep bad people at a distance and keep those who give honest counsel close." "In the past I couldn't tell the difference and trusted people too easily," he said. "I want to embrace those who have spoken kindly or bluntly to me, and show the public a better version of myself."

Shin rose to fame in 1998 as part of Country Kko Kko alongside Tak. His career effectively ended after he was indicted in 2010 over an illegal overseas gambling case and sentenced to eight months in prison. The scandal deepened when it emerged he had falsely claimed to have contracted dengue fever in the Philippines in an attempt to cover up the gambling allegations.