Former EXO member Tao recently met with Hong Jin-kyung, drawing attention for his Korean language skills and updates on his recent activities.
On the 5th, YouTube channel ‘Gongbuwang Jinjja Chaejjae’ uploaded a video titled ‘Hong Jin-kyung Goes to China in Search of the Influencer with 30 Billion Won Daily Sales (+Tao).’.
During the meeting, Hong Jin-kyung greeted former EXO member Tao, saying, “Hello, nice to meet you,” and expressed admiration, remarking, “You look amazing in person.”
Tao welcomed Hong Jin-kyung in Korean, drawing attention by appearing on Korean content for the first time in a while. He said, “Please take a seat.”
Hong Jin-kyung asked Tao about his recent activities, to which Tao replied in Korean, “Life is good, and I got married.” Hong congratulated Tao on his marriage, noting, “It seems you’ve expanded your career from being a singer in Korea to an entrepreneur in China.”
Thanking her for the congratulations, Tao responded, “It’s not that big. What I mainly sell are sanitary pads,” which garnered attention.
He then explained his business in Chinese. Tao stated, “I wanted women to use sanitary pads safely and without concern,” adding, “I’m not at all embarrassed about being in the sanitary pad business. It was the right choice, and I believe it’s a very good thing.”
He revealed that he had sold 150 million sanitary pads and achieved 30 billion won in sales in just three months, which surprised Hong Jin-kyung.
However, Tao candidly admitted, “The net profit isn’t much. I invested 25 billion won to operate six factory lines, and I haven’t broken even yet,” adding that he didn’t trust outsourcing to other factories.
Hong Jin-kyung asked Tao to greet his Korean fans, and Tao quickly concluded his Korean greeting, saying, “It’s been a while. I’m Tao,” which prompted laughter from Hong.
He continued, “I hope everyone is happy and enjoys the present. Thank you,” which garnered further attention.
Fans and netizens showed a heated reaction to Tao’s appearance on the Korean web show, commenting, “It’s really Tao,” “Why are you here?”, “I never thought I’d see this combination,” “Did Tao really appear in 2026?”, and “I came to watch because Tao appeared.”
Regarding his use of Korean, comments included, “It’s strange to hear him greet in Korean as always,” “I’m glad he’s doing well and hasn’t gone down the wrong path,” and “Let’s be happy,” reminiscing about his time in EXO.
Tao debuted with the group EXO in 2012 and left in 2015 to move to China. Currently active as an influencer, he became a hot topic in 2024 after getting married.
Image source: Gongbuwang Jinjja Chaejjae Channel
