Trot singer Song Ga-in's bold welfare support for her managers and staff is being spotlighted again and drawing attention. As manager treatment issues have emerged as a social issue across the entertainment industry, including Park Na-rae, Song Ga-in's extraordinary "staff love" is being noted in contrast.
Based on her experience of difficult unknown days, Song Ga-in has been generous to those around her and has been evaluated as a "symbol of loyalty." This has been revealed several times on broadcasts and has continued as steady goodwill stories.
On Nov. 12, Song Ga-in appeared on KBS 2TV's entertainment program "Baedalwassuda" with mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang, gaining viewer approval with candid talk and warm humanity. On that broadcast, Song Ga-in showed an unusual scale by ordering a total of 50 servings of food, including chicken feet and jjokgalbi, and also displayed a pleasant chemistry with Lee Young-ja and Kim Sook.
On that broadcast, Song Ga-in's love for her staff was highlighted once again. Song Ga-in said, "When it's busy, the staff's monthly food costs come out to about 30 million won to 40 million won," adding, "It makes me feel so bad to see them eating ramen or kimbap to get by. This is work so everyone can make a living, so I think they should eat properly." She added that sometimes a single meal cost reached 600,000 to 700,000 won, revealing her "big-hearted" side. Lee Young-ja and Kim Sook also testified to her usual actions, saying, "Ga-in is really big-hearted toward her staff." Song Ga-in laughed, "So when people join our staff, they all gain weight," and shared an anecdote that a former manager gained 20 to 30 kg, which drew laughter.
Stories of Song Ga-in's manager welfare have been steadily mentioned on other broadcasts. On SBS's "Dollsing Fourman" in 2023, Lee Sang-min said, "Song Ga-in is someone who flexes manager welfare," saying she directly requested the company to raise managers' salaries and even took care of personal bonuses. He also said she provided cars twice for managers and carefully took care of household appliances such as mattresses and dryers.
Song Ga-in modestly said, "The first car I bought had a problem, so I had no choice but to buy another one," but the cast expressed admiration, saying, "The list of goodwill stories never ends." Kim Jun-ho jokingly asked, "Isn't she a mother?"
On MBC's "Omniscient Interfering View" in 2022, Song Ga-in's welfare philosophy was also a hot topic. At the time, while preparing for a nationwide tour, she ordered two ceremonial food tables worth 600,000 won for the staff, and a manager said, "There was a time when for three to four months we ate only beef costing 30 million to 40 million won."
Song Ga-in directly requested her agency to raise managers' salaries by about 15%, and she is known to have consistently provided separate pocket money and gifts. She gifted luxury cosmetics to a manager's mother, gave generous congratulatory money at a stylist's wedding, and reportedly supported various appliances such as air purifiers and dryers to improve working conditions, warming people's hearts.
Song Ga-in directly revealed her giving philosophy, saying, "It's better to spend luxury goods on those who are more thankful than on myself." Song Ga-in's attitude of treating managers and staff not as merely "working relationships" but as "people who go together" is prompting renewed reflection on the employment culture across the entertainment industry.<
[Photo] 'OSEN DB, broadcast screen
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