7 K-Pop Idols Who Worked As Waiters, Restaurant Staff Before Becoming Famous

While there are idols born with a silver spoon and into affluent families, there are also those who worked part-time to support themselves and their dreams of becoming a K-Pop idol.

Others had to earn and save money to support themselves as trainees or to afford vocal lessons.

Here are some idols who worked part-time at restaurants before finally achieving fame and success in the K-Pop entertainment and music scene.

1.

Pentagon's Shinwon

Before becoming a K-Pop trainee and debuting as a member of the K-Pop boy group Pentagon, Shinwon used to work several part-time jobs at a cafe and a hair salon, to name a few.

He worked as a part-time server in an EXO-themed cafe, "BWCW." Even before becoming an idol, Shinwon already had admirers as a handsome cafe part-timer. According to Allkpop, customers often go back to the cafe to see him at the time.

2.

Kep1er's Mashiro

Nicknamed Kep1er's "Chef," Mashiro's bandmates consider her the best cook in their group. This is probably because she used to work part-time at a pancake place and a Korean restaurant in Japan before moving to South Korea.

Mashiro also reportedly worked part-time at a convenience store in Japan. When she saw ITZY – who she used to live with as a trainee at JYP – on TV while working, she gained motivation to pursue her career as a K-Pop idol again, per Kepoper.

3.

Kep1er's Chaehyun

Like her bandmate Mashiro, Chaehyun reportedly used to work part-time at a sushi restaurant and a buffet place before debuting as a K-Pop idol, per Allkpop.

The WAKEONE trainee ranked first in the finale of the Mnet survival show "Girls Planet 999," securing her a spot as one of the members of the project girl group Kep1er.

4.

Stray Kids' Lee Know

Before starting his journey as a JYP Entertainment trainee, Lee Know reportedly worked many part-time jobs to get by and afford cram school. One of which was working at a barbecue place.

Pre-debut, the Stray Kids member also worked as a professional backup dancer for BTS and even toured with the group during its "2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III (Final Chapter): The Wings Tour."

5.

THE BOYZ's New

THE BOYZ's main vocalist, New, used to be a part-timer in the catering industry. New worked part-time in steak, sushi, chicken and noodle restaurants pre-debut so he could afford to enroll in vocal classes.

When he appeared as a guest on Mnet's "TMI News Show," his earnings as a part-time worker were compared to his estimated earnings from THE BOYZ's concert profits. According to the rough calculations, New's earnings increased approximately 2,010 times.

6.

JYJ's Jaejoong

From working several part-time jobs to support himself and afford rent and training fees, Kim Jae-joong, a former member of TVXQ and JYJ, was considered the wealthiest K-Pop idol in 2020 per South China Morning Post.

Aside from working as a waiter, he reportedly sold chewing gum and worked at a construction site.

7.

Billlie's Tsuki

Billlie's main dancer, Tsuki, one of the two Japanese members of the girl group, used to work a part-time job at Shake Shack when she was still in Japan to earn money for her idol training in South Korea.

This information was reportedly revealed when several photos of Tsuki working at a restaurant were uploaded on the Idol Lab page on Facebook.

Barista