'We made W60m in the first month': Broadcaster Jung Jun-ha reveals he has no retirement savings

Broadcaster Jung Jun-ha has revealed that despite striking it big with a street food stall he opened during the Asian financial crisis, he has no retirement savings — having reinvested every won he earned into new businesses.

On Thursday, Jung appeared on "Don Jjul Cheongmunhoe," a segment on the YouTube channel "Channel KK," where he recalled launching his first business in 1997. He said he opened an indoor pojangmacha — a Korean-style street food stall — called "Ori Gungdeongi" at the height of the crisis, describing it as a large, open-format concept that he said was ahead of its time. "I was the originator of what was trendy back then," he said.

Jung said he set up the shop with a deposit of 20 million won ($15,100) and spent 13.7 million won on interior work, all in a space with no windows and just a single ventilation duct.

"We made 60 million won in the first month," he said. At the time, a bottle of soju sold for 1,500 to 2,000 won.

When host Park Young-jin asked what happened to the money he made, Jung replied simply, "I spent it." He went on to open a sushi restaurant and a wine bar, and currently runs a raw fish restaurant, a rotisserie chicken shop, a fried chicken shop and a robot ice cream store.

"Whatever I earn, I put it all back into business," he said. "Right now, it's just money going out constantly."

Asked whether he invests in shares, Jung said he checks the market every day but never ends up buying anything, adding that he holds no positions at all. He also said he has no private pension plan, and that the national pension is the only retirement provision he has.

When asked about an individual retirement pension, or IRP, he shot back, "What's an IRP?" When the English word "pension" came up, he quipped, "When I retire, I'm going to a pension" — using the Korean word for a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse — drawing laughter from the panel.

"People keep telling me to stop expanding and focus on what I have — but then I keep feeling like a new opportunity has come my way," he said.

"I've been in business since 1997, and here I am 30 years later," he added. "The businesses that failed, failed because of COVID — I've never had a major business failure on my own."

Jung had a word of caution for anyone thinking about quitting their job to start a business: "Don't do it carelessly. Don't even think about it carelessly."