Shin Dong-wook of Guppy reveals life at pig farm after failed Philippines venture

Shin Dong-wook, a former member of the K-pop group Guppy, has revealed the eventful story of how he ended up working at a pig farm after stepping away from the entertainment industry.

On Friday, the YouTube channel "Al-i-ef-ter" posted a video featuring Guppy members Shin Dong-wook and Park Sung-ho as guests, sitting down with R.ef members Sung Dae-hyun and Lee Sung-wook for a candid conversation.

In the video, Park mentioned that Shin had "gone off the radar for three years," prompting Sung to ask where he had been. Shin replied that it was not so much a disappearance as a period filled with many events.

"I was abroad for a while — I ran a business in Cebu, Philippines," Shin said. "Before that, I had been operating an advertising production company in Korea." He added that doing the same thing repeatedly had made him want to try something new, explaining why he had abruptly left the industry.

Shin went on to say that while he had found life in Cebu fulfilling as he searched for a new path, his business venture there ultimately failed.

"If the project had gone well, it would have been even more of a healing experience, but instead I ended up deeper in the red," he said. "I came back to Korea without any real plan."

Back in Korea, Shin said he needed to make a living and turned to an acquaintance for help. "I asked a chairman I know for a favor. In December last year, I went to Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province and worked at a pig farm," he said, stunning the other guests. "It's one of the largest hog farms in South Korea — it currently has 18,000 animals and covers about 198,000 square meters."

Guppy debuted in 1996 and won wide popularity with songs including "Many Many," "Sad Love" and "Rules of the Game."