Park Jin-young Reveals JYP Spends Over $1.4 Million a Year on Organic Staff Cafeteria

Park Jin-young Says JYP Spends Over $1.4 Million a Year on Organic Staff Cafeteria: “That’s Why I Made Money”

Park Jin-young revealed that JYP Entertainment spends more than 2 billion won ($1.4 million) annually to operate its organic staff cafeteria, saying providing a healthy working environment for employees was one of the reasons he wanted to make money.

The 54-year-old singer and JYP Entertainment founder appeared on the July 25 episode of MBC’s variety show “Point of Omniscient Interfere,” which followed his tightly organized daily routine and his work at the company.

During a tour of JYP Entertainment’s headquarters, Park’s manager introduced the company’s employee benefits, which include free access to an in-house gym, club activities and foreign-language classes. The company also operates a staff cafe and cafeteria serving food and drinks made with organic ingredients.

The cafeteria alone costs more than 2 billion won a year to maintain. It is located on the top floor of the company building so employees can eat while enjoying the view, while an air-purification system has also been installed with their health in mind.

When the cast noted that using organic ingredients must be expensive, Park replied, “That’s why I made money.”

Park also explained why JYP provides employees with free language classes. He said improving an individual employee’s foreign-language skills ultimately strengthens the company’s competitiveness.

The episode also showed Park meeting newly hired employees and the pre-debut girl group OurBirthday. He encouraged them not to measure themselves against others, saying, “Don’t compare yourself to other people. Compare yourself to who you were last year.”

He also introduced JYP Entertainment’s relatively informal workplace culture. Employees address him as “Mr. Park Jin-young” rather than “CEO” or “chairman.”

“If they called me ‘CEO’ or ‘chairman,’ I don’t think I’d be able to dance,” he joked.

Away from the office, Park showed the strict routine he has maintained for more than 20 years. His mornings include an organic breakfast, memorizing 20 English words, exercising for 90 minutes and completing vocal practice according to a minute-by-minute schedule.

Park, who described himself as “a veteran singer with a rookie’s heart,” said company responsibilities leave him less than a month each year to concentrate on his own music career.

“Being an entertainer feels like a long-distance one-sided crush,” he said.

The episode recorded a 2.0 percent rating among viewers aged 20 to 49, ranking first among variety programs in its time slot. The moment in which Park demonstrated his time-saving “artificial part” hairstyling method reached a peak minute-by-minute rating of 4.6 percent.