Hwang Hye-young Closes Her Online Store After 18 Years to Focus on Family and Personal Growth

Hwang Hye-young, a former member of the group Two Two and now a broadcaster, has announced the closure of her online shopping mall after 18 years of operation.

On October 24, Hwang shared a video titled 'Hwang Hye-young, Closing the Shopping Mall After 18 Years. From a One-Person Company to 10 Billion Won in Annual Sales' on her YouTube channel 'Hwang Hye-young'.

In the video, Hwang expressed, "It's time to stop. I've been doing this for too long," and added, "I no longer have the passion to continue as I did in the beginning. As my twin children grow, I feel inadequate as a working mom and want to focus more on them. Physically, it's been very demanding. I feel like I've been overworking myself and now want to spend time for myself."

Hwang explained her initial motivation for starting the shopping mall, saying, "I began it as a pastime when I felt broadcasting wasn't my calling." She added, "The shopping mall has been a part of nearly half my life and was a breakthrough during tough times."

Reflecting on the challenges, she cited 'sales-related issues' as a major difficulty. Hwang recalled, "During slow business periods, I wanted to quit, and when business was booming, I was too busy to go home. After becoming pregnant and being hospitalized, sales plummeted, and I paid my staff's salaries out of pocket for two years."

She also shared a story from the peak sales period, saying, "During the mall's heyday, we once hit a daily sales record of 4 billion won and an annual sales of 10 billion won. I thought the system was broken that day and kept refreshing the page, counting the zeros repeatedly."

Concluding her message, Hwang stated, "I don't think it's too late for me at my age. I am always passionate about developing new things and pursuing growth. I will continue to live diligently."

Reported by Se-yoon Jung, TenAsia yoon@tenasia.co.kr