Celebrity reveals restaurant sales figures

Actor-entrepreneur Hong Seok-cheon / Korea Times file

Gay celebrity Hong Seok-cheon has disclosed the sales figures of his restaurants.

The actor-entrepreneur, 44, appeared on cable network tvN talk show “Taxi” on Tuesday. He said he runs nine restaurants in Itaewon, home to a large expat community in Seoul.

“Annual sales of the restaurants are 5 to 7 billion won,” he said. “Monthly sales of some stores reach more than 100 million won.” He said sales varied by season.

Hong also said his business was not initially successful.

“When I started a restaurant, daily sales were only 38,000 won,” he said. “At that time, I paid my staff with the money I earned as a nightclub DJ.”