Broadcaster Kim Jun-hee confessed about the survival journey she experienced when starting her online shopping mall.
Recently, Kim Jun-hee released a video titled 'A story I can finally tell' on her YouTube channel 'JUNIE What did you get today'.
In the released video, she revealed the reasons for leaving the entertainment industry and the intensity of the process.
Kim Jun-hee, who debuted in 1994 with the group 'Mu', recalled, "I felt that I couldn't do this job for a lifetime," and said, "One day, I told my mom, 'I want to run a clothing store.'" At that time, her mother was a person who had been a fashion designer for a long time. Despite her mother's opposition, Kim Jun-hee rented a small store and started buying clothes in bulk in Dongdaemun.
The response was explosive. "In 2002, my store that was just 6 pyeong recorded sales of 10 million won in a day. It was a sell-out," said Kim Jun-hee. However, she noted, "My shoulders got so broad that I wondered why I was selling clothes in Dongdaemun," and suddenly started bringing in local Italian clothing. The problem was the price range. "When I displayed clothes costing 300,000 to 400,000 won in front of customers who usually bought items for 10,000 to 20,000 won, they exclaimed 'Wow' and left. I was only able to sell one or two per week," she recalled her hardships.
The problem started here. When funds ran out, she borrowed 30 million won from a close acquaintance who was a loan shark. Kim Jun-hee shared, "I borrowed it without suspicion because he was a really close older brother, but when I said, 'I don't have money,' he suddenly turned hostile, threatening me like a thug, saying, 'Aren't you going to pay me back?' and 'I'll kill you.'"
In a panic, she sought help from her mother, but the response was a firm, "Did you leave 30 million won with me?" She recalled, "As it turned out, my mother thought, 'I shouldn't leave her like this.' She must have been heartbroken too."
Ultimately, Kim Jun-hee returned to Dongdaemun. "At that time, there was a perception that if an entertainer went to Dongdaemun, they had 'failed', but I managed to survive by taking one or two pieces of clothing on credit, selling them, and paying off debts with that money... I endured like that," she said.
Meanwhile, Kim Jun-hee is currently running her shopping mall together with her 5-year-younger husband, who is not in the entertainment industry, whom she married in 2020. The business, which started with a capital of 40 million won, is now surpassing 10 billion won in annual sales, confidently paving her own path.
[Photo] Captured from YouTube
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