KUALA LUMPUR: He may be an international superstar and a member of one of South Korea’s biggest acts, but BigBang member Seungri has also made quite a name for himself as a successful businessman.
The 27-year-old K-Pop artiste has, in the last five years, become the proud owner of a Japanese ramen restaurant chain with 40 branches, including one in KL that opened last month.
He also runs a famous night club and a record company he co-founded with YG Entertainment.
Not bad at all for the young talent who has been able to maintain his momentum in juggling his priorities as the youngest member in BigBang as a celebrity as well as a shrewd entrepreneur.
In a recent interview, Seungri revealed that one of the reasons he dived into the world of business was because he felt overlooked and underappreciated by fans since he was the youngest member of the famous group.
“I trusted my instincts on this matter. Getting into business was one avenue I could explore without having to compete with the rest of the band members,” he said.
He added that his popularity really helped to expand his business ventures.
“I didn’t need to fork out a lot of money since I myself was the main promotional aspect as I was already known to people.
“Opening branches outside of South Korea was pretty straightforward too and developing into a global brand was fast too.
“I looked for partners that would benefit from the power of my popularity,” he said.
Seungri added that he also felt very worried of the many competitors out there who were trying to suss out his weaknesses.
But he let on that he learnt a lot of things along the way in slowly establishing his business empire and advised those thinking of jumping into it to not be greedy.
After he failed in the real estate and electronic businesses, the young star realised that he had to focus on areas that he was truly confident would give him success.
“Those areas were not what I was good in so I wouldn’t pursue them again.
“My mission now is to strengthen the businesses that I’m currently in. I aim to accumulate enough money to help my parents, eat well, travel wherever and whenever I want to, as well as become a good husband and father one fine day,” he said.
On a different note, Soompi reported that the fresh-faced talent announced, via an online teaser image on Tuesday, that his first Korean studio album would be titled, The Great Seungri, and is set for a July 20 release.
The hunky BigBang member’s debut solo tune was Strong Baby, that was also included in the band’s 2008 album, Remember.
In 2011, he released his official solo debut in the form of a mini album, titled V.V.I.P..
The upcoming full-length album will mark Seungri’s first output in five years after the release of his second mini album, Let’s Talk About Love.
After The Great Seungri drops, the successful artiste is expected to perform at his first solo concert in South Korea on Aug 4.