After barely making $360 as a K-pop star, this idol decided to quit and live a normal life as a café owner. Now, she's making over $4,000 monthly.
Noeul Reveals Why She Decided to Become Café Owner
On April 29, former Rainbow Noeul appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel, "Human Story." On this day, she shared her current status after deciding to live an ordinary life away from the spotlight.
In particular, the recent video drew curiosity due to its title introducing a 15-year idol who quit in her 30s to open a café, which became a huge success.
Upon clicking the documentary-like interview, Noeul was revealed to be the guest, sharing how she's living life these days after Rainbow disbanded in 2016.
On this day, Noeul introduced herself:
"I am Noeul, a former member of Rainbow. I am currently living a normal life as an owner of a cafe."
In particular, Rainbow initially re-grouped in 2019, but their promotions eventually fell through, leading the members to focus on their respective careers.
At the time, Noeul attempted to enter the acting scene but failed, which prompted her to just open a business in mid-May 2023.
She explained:
"After group activities, I tried acting, but I kept failing at auditions, and I reached a breaking point while doing small musicals. I started to reflect on whether I really liked this enough to continue. There was a desire for a stable life."
After about a year of operating a café where they sell a variety of desserts, Noeul shares her café's sales:
"Even in the off-season, it comes to a little less than $4,000 a month.”
Noeul's Hardship During Rainbow Activities
When Rainbow debuted in 2009, they received a decent amount of success both locally and internationally, having "A," "Kiss," more as their most commercially successful tracks.
Despite this, Noeul confessed that she wasn't able to make a fortune while promoting as an idol, and in a past interview, she mentioned:
"When I was working part-time and making a living, I didn't even have 500,000 won ($360) in my account when I was out of work, but I survived that way. I thought my life was really miserable."
She continued:
"The thing I did the most to somehow make a living was working at cafes, pubs, bars, and even at meat restaurants. A lot of celebrities came (to the meat restaurant). I couldn’t go anywhere, but one of the people who came at that time was Seo Jang Hoon. Once he heard about my situation, he gave me 1 million won ($722) as pocket money.”
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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz
