Actor Lim Won-hee. [Newsis]
Actor Lim Won-hee. [Newsis]

Actor Lim Won-hee has revealed that he is selling his hanok wine bar in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, which he operated for four years.

Sunday's episode of the SBS variety program My Little Old Boy featured Lim spending time with Lee Hee-jin, a former member of the K-pop group Baby V.O.X.

The two browsed used cars together as Lee looked to buy her first vehicle, before heading to Lim's hanok wine bar in Gangneung.

Lim gave Lee a personal tour of the interior, pointing out details throughout. "I opened it in 2022, so it's been four years," he said, adding, "I've never brought a woman like you here. Today, I'm not open for business — this is just for you."

Lee was charmed by the space, saying, "It's so pretty and cute." When asked about the venue's drawbacks, though, she said, "The location is really out of the way."

Lim then made a surprising admission. "Actually, I've put the place up for sale. It's been about three months since I listed it," he said.

Lee, who runs her own cafe, expressed sympathy and offered Lim some practical advice.

"My cafe was empty too, with no customers," she said, explaining that she had worked hard to turn things around and eventually saw business pick up. Lee said the single most important factor in running a small business is the owner being present at the shop.

"If I have no schedule in Seoul, I make sure I'm at the cafe," she said. "Even when customers pretended not to recognize me, I greeted them even more cheerfully." When Lim said, "Even when I'm there, customers pretend not to know me," Lee replied, "I worried they might not recognize me and just think, 'Who's that?' — so I'd go up to them first and say, 'Hello, I'm Lee Hee-jin from Baby V.O.X.'" She said taking the initiative to approach customers is what matters.

Meanwhile, National Tax Service data show that 624,000 self-employed businesses closed nationwide in the first half of this year — a 14.7 percent increase from the same period last year and the highest figure on record for any half-year period since tracking began.

Over the same period, 473,000 new businesses opened, meaning closures far outnumbered new registrations. The self-employment sector has entered a phase of net decline, with more businesses shutting down than starting up.

Among sectors with the most closures in the first half, restaurants led with 185,000 shutdowns, followed by retail and wholesale trade, service industries and accommodation. Sluggish sales accounted for the largest share of closures, with labor costs, rent burdens and loan repayment pressure also cited as major factors weighing on small-business owners.


betterj@heraldcorp.com