“I’m Happy For Being Able To Eat Two Instant Noodles At Once,” Top Idols Who Went Through Great Financial Hardship
Recently, Kim Tae-heon, a former member of the group ZE:A, confessed about his difficulties in life. In particular, in the latest episode of MBN’s “Exclusive World,” which aired on July 11th, ZE:A’s rapper member Kim Tae-heon appeared to share his recent status.
In this episode, Kim shared, “There was nothing left. The glamour of when I was active as an idol. There was nothing left. So I retired.” He said that he had been working as a day laborer since the disbandment of the group. “I couldn’t pay for my phone plan and my credit card was blocked. I had to boil water with gas to shower,” he said, shocking the audience.
Kim Tae-heon revealed he has been working at a Chinese restaurant for three months now, saying, “I’m happy to be able to eat two instant noodles. When I was having a hard time, I could only eat one.”
Eunhyuk, a member of Super Junior which is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, also had a difficult childhood. Eunhyuk appeared on a show in the past and shared, “When I was young, my house didn’t have a bathroom. That’s why I had to use the bathroom at a nearby train station and our family moved around a lot.” Even so, he said, “I had no complaints despite my difficult life at the time. But I didn’t like to see my parents having a hard time,” showing his affection for his family.
Eunhyuk drew attention with his frugal appearance, buying a house for his parents after making his name known as Super Junior, while at the same time driving around in a compact car for nearly 10 years.
Hwanhee of the group Fly to the Sky also confessed that he had a hard time after leaving SM Entertainment. “It was a time when many idol groups debuted, so we tried to find a place where we could show our music well,” Hwanhee said, recalling when he left SM after a five-year contract.
“There were too many offers. Any company that promises to give us a lot of money seemed like a scam. We didn’t think about asking a lawyer to look at it, so we didn’t sign a contract with a new agency. My bank account balance was gone and it was so hard,” he confessed.
“At that time, a lot of people thought I made a lot of money. When I met my friends, I always paid, but that became a habit. At that moment (financial difficulties) came, and I thought, “It’s hard for me, too,” he said. “At some point, I didn’t want to go out and let my friends pay, and I didn’t want to be beholden to them, so I didn’t want to go out of my house. I think there were a few crises like that,” he recalled.