Soloist Choi Yena recently appeared as a special guest on Jang Sung Kyu’s YouTube variety show Breakfast 2 and shared some heartwarming stories of her financial growth.
Choi Yena | @yena.jigumina /Instagram
The episode kicked off with Yena and Jang Sung Kyu sharing a bulgogi meal for breakfast when Yena recalled that during her trainee days, she used to pass by a bulgogi restaurant frequently. The smell of barbecue would make her crave it intensely, but back then, she couldn’t even afford the set meal of ₩12,000 KRW (about $9.03 USD).
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Since then, it was her dream to buy herself unlimited food at that place after debuting. It turns out that dream has become an easy reality for the singer now.
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Yena also revealed her lavish Gangnam house on camera, where she currently lives with her brother. Compared to her previous house, where she had only two rooms, this new abode has three rooms, which left her with a spare one to create her dream gaming room! She also mentioned that everything in the house is paid for by her.
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Jang Sung Kyu noted that both her previous house and her current house are pretty expensive, implying that she must be earning very highly. When he asked Yena about what she did with her first earnings as a soloist, Yena candidly responded, “Last year, it was my first time to travel abroad with my family.” She took her family on a vacation overseas this year as well.
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But the most real flex came when Yena revealed that she bought her parents a house in Yangpyeong!
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When the MC praised her for being a filial daughter, the singer replied, saying she likes doing things for her family because she grew up in difficult circumstances. Though her parents always hid their financial difficulties from her, as a child, Yena would notice their houses getting smaller every time they moved. At one point, they couldn’t even give her enough money to recharge her transportation card.
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Yena also suffered from cancer in her childhood, and the treatment cost drove up the bills quickly and high.
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Since her family endured many difficulties due to her medical conditions, Yena said she always had the ambition to be successful and treat her family better.
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But she also treats herself with the hard-earned money. After Jang Sung Kyu pursued her for a while, Yena revealed that she bought herself a car, a Mercedez-Benz, recently.
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Impressively enough, the singer mentioned that she manages her finances herself!
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Though she hinted at making some unwise stock investment choices in the past seven months…
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There is no denying that Yena’s growth as an artist and the story behind her ambition to be successful is inspiring, to say the least.
