[YouTube channel 'Illu Hwang']
[YouTube channel 'Illu Hwang']

Former baseball player Hwang Jae-gyun has shared the story of how he launched a cafe business — and watched it fail.

In a video posted Friday to his YouTube channel "Illu Hwang," Hwang visited Seongsu-dong in Seoul to talk about fashion.

While eating ice cream on the streets of Seongsu-dong, Hwang opened up about his painful experience trying to break into the food and beverage industry in the neighborhood. "About three years ago, I opened a bagel cafe in Seongsu-dong," he said. "It went under in five months, so I switched to a salad cafe — and that one failed in three months." The two ventures combined did not even add up to a full year of operation.

Hwang opened a franchise bagel cafe in Seongsu-dong with friends in April 2022, just before his marriage to Ji-yeon. It was a time when bagels were sweeping the food industry — London Bagel Museum had opened near Anguk Station in 2021 to wide popularity. Fellow baseball players and celebrities rallied behind the venture, and word of mouth drew fans to the shop, but it closed before long.

Hwang recently made headlines for a different reason: his monthly electricity bill at his solo residence had climbed as high as 1.5 million won ($1,120). He said he had been using a refrigerator he bought for post-workout ice baths every day, and ultimately unplugged it when the electricity costs became too much to bear.

Hwang married T-ara member Ji-yeon in 2022 but divorced in 2024. After retiring from professional baseball last year, he has been expanding his public presence through television appearances and YouTube.


paq@heraldcorp.com