A man once thought to have quietly disappeared from the stage has found his new calling in an unexpected place. Former SM☆SH rapper Young Seok, after walking away from idol life, built a thriving bakery and café business that at one point grew to 15 stores.
Young Seok appeared on the YouTube channel Current state of the Olympicssharing his journey since leaving the entertainment industry. The video, titled “[Meeting Young Seok] Success in 15 stores… The former idol becomes “CEO of bread”, we visited his Paju store”was first released on February 20.
His path has not been glamorous. “When I left the entertainment industry in my early thirties, I realized there was nothing I could do. All my friends had gained experience and grown up, but I was at the bottom.” he recalled.
To make ends meet, he juggled three jobs: learning to knead dough at a bakery during the day and delivering for Japanese pubs and laundromats at night. Even after returning from a concert in Japan, he immediately went to work wearing red gloves. Even though going from applause on stage to silence in the factory felt hollow, he continued with his mindset: “I have to run while the others are sleeping.”
During that difficult period, he still performed in concerts. “I worked in a bakery during the day and flew to Japan after work to perform,” he said. “It seemed strange. I did hard labor during the day, then put on makeup and cheered in the evening. I missed it, but I also felt like I couldn’t go back, maybe because of my age.”
Young Seok launched his bakery around 2017, supported by a clear philosophy: “Treat every customer as if they were for life” “Make one person visit 100 times” AND “Conquer them with sincerity”. Personally managed product quality and customer service while achieving daily sales goals. At its peak, his business had 15 locations, some of which earned 10 times the monthly rent.
But doing most of the work himself to save on labor became unsustainable as the company grew. “There was no existing structure, so I had to build one from scratch. This involved a lot of trial and error,” he admitted. Now he is preparing to relaunch under a new brand, saying: “Sometimes I think if I had worked so hard as a celebrity, maybe I could have reached the top.”
To understand its present, we must revisit its roots. SM☆SHcreated by HOT member Tony An, debuted in 2008 with the mini album Open fire!promoting in Korea and Japan. In 2012 the group formed the project unit TONY AND SMASH with Tony An and released the single Get your swag. But due to lineup changes and inactivity, the group unofficially disbanded in 2015.
When asked about SM☆SHYoung Seok said, “We didn’t officially break up, it just faded away. I wanted to continue, but you can’t live just chasing dreams forever.”
At the end of the video, he explained why he chose to appear publicly again: “I wanted to greet the fans who remember SM☆SH. We are all living our best lives. I hope people continue to remember us.”
Sources: Daum
