Im Woo-il reveals saving 10 million won annually while earning 1.5 million won per month—followed by Kim Yeong-hui

Comedian Im Woo-il will reveal his extraordinary saving habits, having saved 10 million won in a year while enduring a monthly income of 1.5 million won during his rookie days. As his lifestyle of strictly managing the boundary between consumption and savings since his low-income days is revealed, he is expected to be spotlighted as a new 'expert in frugal tech.'

The KBS2 'Malja Show,' broadcasting at 9:30 PM on the 5th, will be presented as a 'What is Money' special. On this broadcast, Im Woo-il and stock expert Choi Go-min-su will appear to talk about their respective experiences of saving and growing money. Im Woo-il, who visited the program last June with the modifier 'Kim Yeong-hui's Man,' returns after about four months to unfold stories surrounding frugality and financial technology.

In particular, the scale of Im Woo-il's savings during his rookie days is eye-catching. He reveals that although his monthly income at the time was only about 1.5 million won, he saved 10 million won in a year. By simple calculation, he saved 10 million won out of an annual income of 18 million won. This means he has practiced a fairly intense saving life even before various financial technology methods to reduce consumption became popularized like they are now.

What is more interesting is the fact that Kim Yeong-hui is involved in the secret. To Im Woo-il, Kim Yeong-hui appears as an indispensable figure when talking about his economic concepts and lifestyle habits, going beyond being just a fellow comedian. How the relationship the two have built over a long time through broadcasts and daily life connects to Im Woo-il's attitude toward money is expected to be revealed in this broadcast.

Im Woo-il's way of saving is different from the commonly imagined 'person who unconditionally does not spend.' Contrary to his usual frugal image, he reveals, "I spend decisively when I need to," foreshadowing another twist. This means he does not suppress all consumption, but rather establishes his own standards by spending boldly at necessary moments and reducing unnecessary consumption.

What he emphasizes as much as saving is his spending in human relationships. Im Woo-il brings up a so-called 'self-anecdote,' claiming he was the person who gave the largest wedding gift at his close friend Kim Ki-ri's wedding. This is an anecdote that stands in stark contrast to his usual frugal image. Consequently, as Kim Yeong-hui pushes him to reveal the actual amount of the wedding gift and the audience begins to guess the amount, Im Woo-il appears quite flustered.

This scene is also a part where one can glimpse Im Woo-il's standards for dealing with money. Although 'frugal tech' has established itself as a lifestyle culture in recent years, the meaning of frugality does not lie solely in not spending money. A way of reducing fixed costs and unnecessary consumption while willingly spending money on family, friends, or important experiences is gaining attention as a new consumption philosophy. Im Woo-il is also showing such a realistic economic concept.

On this broadcast, stock expert Choi Go-min-su will also appear to tell stories of financial technology in a different way from Im Woo-il. Choi Go-min-su, who worked in the Yeouido securities district and authored books related to stocks, reveals his investment experience of turning a 30 million won negative bankbook into 800 million won, and based on this, introduces his own investment habits and financial technology know-how.

Ultimately, this 'What is Money' special is a place that shows methods of saving money and growing money respectively. On one side is Im Woo-il's 'frugal-type financial technology' of steadily saving even when he was earning 1.5 million won per month, and on the other side is Choi Go-min-su's method of growing assets through investment. As we live in an era where saving and investment are difficult to explain with only one side, the different money management methods the two will tell are expected to approach viewers as realistic interests.