Former Idol Shares Reality, Income of Being in 'Nugu' K-pop Group: 'Profit is only $460'
Despite being active for 5 years in the music scene, this 3rd-gen K-pop idol revealed he only received $460 as his overall income.
Former Idol Shares Reality, Income of Being in 'Nugu' K-pop Group: 'Profit is only $460'
Ex-Halo Dino Reveals Income of Only $460 in 5-Year Career as 'Nugu' Group Member
Jo Sung Ho, also known as Dino when he was still active as a member of the K-pop group Halo, exposed the small income he received throughout his idol activities.
On July 18, T-CAST E-Channel, "쩐생연분," featured the 12-year couple Jo Sung Ho and Lee Sang Mi. The former idol and model, respectively, received huge attention from MZ gen viewers after their appearance in the popular dating entertainment show, "Living Together Without Marriage."
In the broadcast, Jo Sung Ho, who was the group's main vocalist, updated on his status after the group silently disbanded in 2019.
Jo Sung Ho particularly expressed his regrets for being a homebody, who stays at home six days a week, and opened up about enduring a hard time being in a long period of obscurity.
"First of all, I had no money. I didn't make any money, but I was always busy. There are many things I couldn't do for my girlfriend when I didn't have money or time."
READ ALSO: Rookie Group HALO Gathers 2700 Fans Before Debut
Although Halo has been active for five years, the group unfortunately didn't make any significant hits and failed to establish their name in the music scene. They, however, enjoyed decent popularity.
At the time, the group came from a small/midsized company rival to some of the biggest third-gen boy groups from "BIG 4," such as EXO, BTS, SEVENTEEN and more.
Hearing this, economist Seo Min Jung asked:
"How much did you earn at the time when you were working that hard?"
Jo Sung Ho revealed the low income he got during his active days.
"I received 5 million won (about $4,000) as a down payment at the time of my Halo activities. I received my first settlement just before going to the military at the age of 29, and I had only 580,000 won (about $460) in profits after five years of activities."
Jo Sung Ho Reveals Financial Struggles After Working as Idol
After finishing his idol life and discharging from the military, Jo, together with her long-time girlfriend, left their respective studio apartments and set up a cohabitation house without getting married.
The house, which boasts a size comparable to a model house with a sophisticated interior, is also the cause of the conflict between the two.
In particular, the sales price of the house is 400 million (317k), but it left them a bank debt of 200 million ($157k).
As a result, the couple has been arguing about this a lot in their daily lives, with boyfriend Jo Sung Ho, who is happy to succeed in preparing himself, and girlfriend Lee Sang Mi, who complains of frustration when she has to save money.
READ MORE: 7 K-pop Songs From 'Less Famous' Boy Groups That Would've Gone Viral If Released by 'Big 4'
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