Comedian Hong Yun-hwa and her husband Kim Min-gi shared recent news that after hard times they hit the jackpot recently with an oden bar.
On the morning of the 16th, the KBS1 program 'Morning Yard' Tuesday guest segment featured comedians Hong Yun-hwa and Kim Min-gi as guests.
That day Hong Yun-hwa said of their recent situation, "We didn't know running a small business would be this hard and difficult, so we tried it. The adult beverage my husband likes and the oden I like. We opened a small oden bar in Mangwon-dong with delicious food and side dishes," she said. She said it started in July and it's now been four or five months, and when asked "how is it now that you've actually tried it," she complained, "it's really not easy."
Currently dieting and having succeeded in losing 30kg, Hong Yun-hwa said, "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 bring other food. Some people order cakes, bread, pizza on the spot, and they bring seasonal fruit, regional specialties, dried persimmons, ripe persimmons even by the box, and because we eat those together it's not easy to lose weight," she said, voicing her difficulties.
She added, "Thankfully people come from all over the country and from abroad. Foreigners come, and recently some Koreans living in Canada said that as soon as they came to Korea the first place they visited was our shop. We are very grateful," she said, expressing joy. Kim Min-gi said, "Because people come to see us while we run the shop, we decided to open only when we're present," he said.
Then Lee Kwang-gi said, "I also tried running a small business before and it's really hard. You have to research thoroughly; it's difficult without prior investigation. Did you do that investigation on foot?" and Hong Yun-hwa replied, "We did the prior research, but since we hadn't run a business before, we focused on whether the food would be good and whether the location had lots of foot traffic. But when it actually happened, we realized not only that but also that construction costs, how much electricity would cost, wiring, kitchen equipment—all of that had to be done in advance. As it was our first time running a business we didn't know. So we did the construction several times over," she confessed.
Kim Min-gi recounted a harrowing episode: "So on the first day there was a power outage. Fortunately, the customers thought it was an event and screamed. We wondered what to do and turned it back on, and the people went 'uwaa' again. Then it went out again and they went 'uwaa' and we kept breaking out in cold sweat," he said. Lee Kwang-gi said, "Maybe the electrical capacity was insufficient," and Hong Yun-hwa revealed, "We didn't know these things had to be done in advance. Since it's a restaurant we only thought about food, hygiene and good ingredients."
When asked, "Mangwon-dong has so many famous restaurants; isn't there competition in the surrounding commercial area?" Hong Yun-hwa said, "No. The shops on both sides of us are very famous restaurants. Because they are establishments with 30-year histories, the owners actually help us and give advice. It's coexistence. Customers who come to our shop go to the neighboring shops, and customers who used to go to the neighboring shops come to our place," she said. Kim Min-gi added, "If we run out of oil we go next door and borrow some. They help us," he said, saying it has been a big support and creating a heartwarming moment.
Lee Kwang-gi asked, "It's been four months, but what was the highest daily sales?" and Hong Yun-hwa hesitated, saying, "Well..." When asked, "recommend your most delicious item," Hong Yun-hwa said, "We have limited-quantity menu items. Because we try to receive fresh ingredients there are limits. There's a menu where salmon is pre-salted, and my husband really likes it, so on days he really wants to eat it he says, 'Don't sell one of them today, save it for me.' He wants to eat it after closing," she said, piquing curiosity.
When asked if they had ever fought while running the shop, Hong Yun-hwa said, "We've never fought, but watching this I think it's because my husband does so much for me," adding, "We have assigned responsibilities, but I normally prepare everything in front, and my husband, saying he's worried about me, keeps going out ahead to do things for me," she said, showing off their affectionate couple image.
Later, the couple's own "marital formula" was revealed. Hong Yun-hwa, who once dreamed of becoming a teacher, said that one day she saw Kim Shin-young's 'Haengnim-ah' stage on the comedy show 'Finding the Laughs' and dreamed of becoming a comedienne. On the other hand, Kim Min-gi, who lived without a clear dream, decided to become a comedian and moved to Seoul with no money, enduring a dark period with nothing.
Kim Min-gi said, "Yun-hwa performs comedy thoroughly with energy and talent, and I actually have a bit of stage fright. I was always nervous. As I grew more nervous I started cutting my lines and letting her carry things. People around us said, 'Aren't you jealous if you let her like that?' but for me supporting others is my calling," and he added, "Meeting Yun-hwa was a wonderfully happy synergy," moving listeners. Hong Yun-hwa also praised him, saying, "I'm not good at arranging things, but watching the structures he gives me I always thought, 'How did you come up with that?'"
Regarding nicknames such as "the Choi Soo-jong of the comedy world," "the king of events," and "a romantic," Kim Min-gi said frankly, "The titles are so grand that sometimes they make me more cautious. It's a lot of pressure." Hong Yun-hwa boasted, "My husband is basically thoughtful. When we were dating, he would say 'you're pretty' walking by, then because he had no money he'd say 'never mind' and go, but he'd remember and later buy it. One day he suddenly gives a gift casually. If he sees pretty flowers while passing by he secretly goes and buys them and gives them to me. He's always thoughtful. He still does that without me saying anything. He always puts on my sneakers for me. We're seven years married and now heading into our eighth year. He treats me like his daughter," she said proudly.
Conversely, Kim Min-gi said of Hong Yun-hwa, "She has a lot of aegyo. Because Yun-hwa is shy outside, when I hug her she says 'oppa!' but when we get home she snuggles in. They're almost always attached. She acts cute a lot and I almost melt. When we're at home," he said, adding warmth.
The reason the two could be like this, they said, is because they endured hard times together and grew. Hong Yun-hwa said, "We get asked that a lot. If we could go back, when was the best time? No matter how you turn it over, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today — that's the kind of life we live together. My husband had 10,000 won as his entire fortune and I had 5,000 won when we met. I was 23 and he was 28, so we had no money. I was shooting a sitcom then but I was the youngest and the conditions were bad, so no matter how much I worked the more I earned the less money I seemed to have. It was midwinter and it was so cold that others wore long padded coats but they were expensive so I couldn't buy one and I was freezing. My husband's entire fortune then was 30,000 won or 20,000 won, but in Daehangno there's a place that sells used clothes, so he bought a long padded coat secondhand for 20,000 or 30,000 won and I wore that. I wore it for two years. It was very warm," she recounted.
Kim Min-gi said, "We really suffered a lot. Because we had so little money, our dates consisted of me walking her home. We didn't have money to go to a restaurant to drink or buy a chicken, so we just walked her home. We just went back and forth. I felt so sorry. Those feelings are still strong now," he said, but Hong Yun-hwa expressed gratitude, saying, "But I gave him all my savings then. He is someone whose sincerity really came through."
Finally, when asked about future plans and goals, Hong Yun-hwa said, "My goal for this year and my goal until I die is to be a person who is happy in body and mind, a healthy person. That seems to be the end goal. I'm restarting a diet to make my body healthier. Being healthy and happy in body and mind is my final life goal. I'm not hoping for a huge lottery first prize or anything like that," she said.
Anchor Eom Ji-in playfully asked, "Isn't this an oden shop jackpot?" and Hong Yun-hwa replied, "It's already doing very well.." attracting attention. She said, "I just want to live like this without incident. I want to be healthy and happy in body and mind." Then Kim Min-gi revealed his romantic side again, saying, "Yun-hwa suddenly told me she wanted to open a shop. She said she had signed the contract. She told me I just needed to look after the hall. I asked, 'what are you talking about?' but now she has a shop, right? I want to keep walking the path Yun-hwa wants to go forward," he said.
[Photo] KBS1
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