EXID’s Hyerin Reveals Taco Business Success in 2026

EXID’s Hyerin Trades the Stage for a Taco Kitchen

Can a K-pop idol run a wildly successful restaurant and still be part of a girl group? Hyerin, a member of the beloved group EXID, just proved the answer is yes. A new video revealed she now manages a taco restaurant pulling in around 140 million won in monthly sales — and she wants fans to know she never left EXID at all.

This story broke through a YouTube channel called “Human Story,” which follows ordinary and extraordinary Korean lives. Hyerin appeared in an apron, taking orders and cooking alongside her staff. Her fans, understandably, had questions.

From K-Pop Idol to Small Business Owner

EXID debuted in 2012 and became one of Korea’s most respected girl groups, known for hits like “Up & Down” and “Ah Yeah.” Hyerin was always a standout member, known for her vocals and stage presence. So why is she now flipping tortillas instead of headlining concerts?

The truth is simpler than fans assumed. Hyerin explicitly clarified in the video that she has not quit EXID. Instead, she has built a second career as an entrepreneur, something increasingly common among Korean idols once their group activities slow down.

Her taco restaurant reportedly generates about 140 million won every month — that’s roughly $100,000 USD. For a small restaurant, that’s an extraordinary number. Koreans take their food businesses seriously, and this is something of an understatement when the monthly revenue rivals a mid-sized company’s.

What makes her story compelling isn’t just the money. It’s the fact that she’s visibly working — cooking, managing staff, greeting customers. She isn’t simply attaching her celebrity name to a business run by someone else.

What EXID’s Legacy Tells Us About Reinvention

EXID’s journey has never been conventional. The group struggled for years before a fan-recorded video of member Hani went viral, catapulting them to sudden fame in 2014. That origin story alone tells you something about Korean pop culture — success can arrive in the most unpredictable ways.

Given that history, does it surprise you that Hyerin would build success outside music too? Idols in Korea face intense pressure to maintain relevance, and many turn to business ventures once comeback schedules become less frequent. Restaurants, cafes, and clothing lines are common paths.

Hyerin’s case stands out because of the scale of her success. Most celebrity-owned restaurants struggle to break even, weighed down by high rent and skeptical customers who assume the food is secondary to the fame. Her taco shop appears to have overcome that stereotype entirely.

You might wonder whether her idol status helped her business take off. It certainly brought initial attention, but sustaining 140 million won in monthly sales requires more than curiosity visits. Repeat customers, consistent food quality, and smart management matter far more in the long run.

For more context on EXID’s career trajectory and industry impact, readers can check Maeil Business Newspaper, which first reported this story.

Why This Matters Beyond Korea

Here’s something worth sitting with: we often expect celebrities to stay in their lane. Singers sing, actors act, and business is left to businesspeople. Hyerin’s story quietly challenges that assumption, and it’s worth asking why we hold entertainers to such narrow expectations in the first place.

There is a real tension here worth naming honestly. Korea’s entertainment industry can be brutally unstable, pushing idols toward short careers and uncertain futures once their group’s popularity fades. That instability is a genuine structural problem, not something to romanticize away.

But within that same uncertainty, something hopeful is happening. Idols like Hyerin are proving that reinvention is possible without abandoning the identity that got them there in the first place. She hasn’t quit EXID — she has simply expanded what being part of EXID can look like, and that flexibility offers a model other idols facing similar pressures might follow.

Hyerin’s balancing act — idol and entrepreneur — reflects a broader shift in how Koreans think about career identity. Having one job for life is no longer the expectation, in Korea or anywhere else. EXID fans seem to have embraced this news warmly, celebrating rather than questioning her choice.

Where does this leave EXID as a group? Nothing suggests they are disbanding or that Hyerin is stepping away from music entirely. If anything, her business success may give her — and the group — more creative freedom moving forward, unburdened by financial pressure tied solely to music sales.

So what do you think — should celebrities be encouraged to build careers beyond their original craft, or does it risk diluting their artistic focus? Hyerin’s taco restaurant suggests the two paths can coexist rather than compete.

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