Affording the “idol” status to K-pop singers is a double-edged sword that has especially often done its bit in ostentatiously erasing their human-like qualities, the discussion around adulting occasionally helped ground their reality. Yuna of ITZY recently particularly shone the spotlight on this divide on her recently launched solo YouTube channel (@yunani_bit2na).
On the first episode of her self-titled series, “Solo Dining,” the 4th-gen K-pop starlet dined out alone, i.e., without fellow ITZY members (but in the crew members’ presence), and discussed various aspects of her adult life.
Shuffling through various topics, the ITZY maknae eventually revealed that she was particularly curious about investment as an adult. The 21-year-old shared that she was handling the overall financial decision herself even though her mother acted as a guiding hand now and then.
ITZY’s Yuna on buying Tesla stocks
Yuna admitted that she preferred splitting her bank accounts for tax and saving purposes. She also set aside a considerable portion of her earnings to invest in stocks.
She ultimately confessed that in December, her birthday month, she “suddenly bought stocks for Tesla without even realising.” Initially, she saw a favourable outcome, making a 40% profit on the stocks she’d invested in. However, the situation later spiralled out of hand, resulting in a grave loss.
“But I have to sell it, right? Since there was a profit” she discussed with the crew members of her solo YouTube show. Easily swayed by how others guided her, she admitted, “People said it would go up more, so I left it.”
Chuckling through her regretful admission, she concluded, “Then ended up in a loss.” Yuna remained hopeful despite her initial stock investment failure: “But they say it will rise again, in the long run.”
Check out Yuna’s YouTube show:
Other South Korean celebrities who made news for investing in company shares
ITZY’s youngest member is not the only K-pop star to have been associated with such investments. In 2019, digital K-media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper / Maeil Kyungjae revealed that several Hallyu actors and singers had invested in the entertainment company Kakao M’s stocks.
At the time of reporting, Harbin star Hyun Bin had 24,451 shares, Lee Min Ho 16,301 shares and Park Seo Joon 12,225 shares. Singers K.Will (7,335), MONSTA X’s Kihyun (7,906), Son Na Eun (1,630) and Soyou (815), among others, were also reported to have shares in the company.
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The company issued a statement, saying, “We pursued the paid-in capital increase with the intention that the participants would not only have a sense of belonging as members and shareholders of Kakao M, but also sympathise with Kakao M’s vision and join forces to grow together.” (literal translation)
SM and JYPE artists with company stock options
In 2021, The Korea Economic Daily further reported on how artists from top agencies were cashing in on rising share prices. The ‘Queen of K-pop’ BoA, who became a non-registered director of SM Entertainment in 2014, disposed of 4,800 shares from her 6,000 stock options, realising a capital gain of 105.6 million won. Similarly, fellow top executive and singer Kangta raised a valuation gain of 242.8 million won. JYP Entertainment (agency managing ITZY) also gave its top artists 2PM members, Nichkun and Junho, 15,000 stock options.
