Comedian Hong Yun-hwa and Kim Min-gi couple shared an update on their business.
On the morning of the 16th, the couple appeared as guests on KBS1's Morning Yard Tuesday interview.
That day, when asked about her recent start of a new venture, Hong Yun-hwa said, "We took on running a small business without knowing how hard and difficult self-employment is. My husband likes adult beverages and I like fish cake. We opened a small eomuk bar in Mangwon-dong with delicious food and side dishes," she said, adding, "We do have a team working with us, but we handle the basic setup and things like that ourselves."
They said they opened in July and it has been four to five months since opening. When asked, "How is it actually?" they confessed, "It's really not easy." Moreover, while on a diet, Hong Yun-hwa complained, "There are many difficult aspects. First, customers who visit our shop like us so much that when they come to eat at the restaurant they also bring food to eat. Some order cakes, bread, pizza on site, and they bring seasonal fruits, local specialties, dried persimmons, and ripe persimmons, even bringing whole boxes and eating them together, so it's not easy to lose weight."
Kim Min-gi also said, "While working, someone came to deliver food. When I asked why they came, they said a customer thought Yun-hwa looked hungry and had ordered pizza. We're very grateful when local people bring regional specialties when they visit."
Hong Yun-hwa said, "Fortunately, people come from all over the country and from overseas. Foreigners also come, and recently Koreans living in Canada came to Korea and visited our shop first. We're very grateful," announcing that it had become a "hot place." She said about the cooking, "We all do it together, taking turns. I mainly handle the front kitchen for main dishes and my husband mostly manages the dining area, but depending on the situation he may be in the main kitchen," and joked, "The hardest thing is resisting my own food."
In particular, Kim Min-gi surprised listeners by saying, "We decided to open only when we are present because there are people who come to our shop and we wanted to be on site." Lee Kwang-gi said, "I also ran a small business before and it was really difficult. You have to research thoroughly; it's hard without prior investigation. Did you do that by going out on foot?" he asked, and Hong Yun-hwa said, "We did do prior research, but since we hadn't run a business before, we focused our research on making tasty food, location, and attracting people. But once it actually happened, we realized not only that but also things like construction costs, how much electricity would be needed, wiring, kitchen equipment — all that had to be prepared in advance. We didn't know because it was our first time in business. That's why we redid the construction several times."
Kim Min-gi recalled the harrowing moment, "So on the first day the power went out. Luckily, the customers thought it was an event and screamed. We wondered what to do and turned it back on, and people went 'wow' again. Then it went out again and they went 'wow' and we kept breaking out in cold sweat..."
Lee Kwang-gi said, "It seems the electrical capacity was insufficient," expressing regret, and Hong Yun-hwa said, "We didn't know these things had to be done in advance. As a restaurant, we only knew about food, hygiene and good ingredients." Lee Kwang-gi joked, "Surely the drains must have clogged a few times," and Hong Yun-hwa replied, "Not yet," she said.
[Photo] KBS1
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