Korean Twitch Streamer Gets Back At Stream Doxxers Who Got Her Fired By Opening Her Own Convenience Store
After famous Korean Twitch streamer HAchubby was forced to quit her job due to stream doxxing, the broadcasting star has finally achieved her dream of opening her own convenience store. Here’s how and why she embarked on this sweet and inspirational journey.
Back in 2018, the business HAchubby worked at as an office clerk unexpectedly went bust. Down on her luck, the then-28-year-old had to find part-time work at a local convenience store to make ends meet. Anyone who’s worked in retail knows how boring it can be—especially when you’re the only one on shift—but HAchubby found a way to make it interesting: streaming.
Starting her Twitch channel the same year, HAchubby began broadcasting her work shifts on the platform. Despite having just 10 to 20 viewers on each stream, she explained that being able to communicate with others while working made the job more enjoyable, even when she was just cleaning up or emptying trash.
While most of the biggest Twitch streamers are video gamers, HAchubby soon rose to fame herself after funny clips of her streams were shared on Reddit‘s r/LivestreamFail community. By September 2019, HAchubby amassed over 100,000 followers on Twitch and even raised enough money to travel to the US for Twitchcon.
However, things took a downward turn the following month. Sadly, HAchubby was hit by stream doxxers. Stream doxxing is the act of intentionally making private information (in HAchubby’s case, a work address) public. Once people knew where she worked, they showed up at the convenience store and got in touch with her manager.
Since HAchubby was just a part-time worker at the store with no ownership privileges, she had no choice but to quit her job. While many people would be happy to leave a retail job, HAchubby was devastated. In a new video on the whole ordeal, HAchubby shared that not only did she lose a big part of her life, she felt like she was letting down viewers who loved watching her too.
I lost a big part of my stream and my life. And my viewers lost something they enjoyed to watch every weekend.
— HAchubby
On top of that, HAchubby liked having a job that grounded her in the real world. She explained that if she became a full-time live streamer, she was scared that her life would change too much. In one stream, HAchubby broke down in tears on camera as she revealed how much she liked her job and wanted to keep going.
Thankfully, the Korean streamer didn’t give up. Instead, while full-time streaming, she came up with a bright idea: what if she opened her own convenience store to stream in? Of course, opening a business isn’t easy. HAchubby revealed she didn’t really consider the costs and difficulties of creating her own store, but she persisted nonetheless.
I promised the viewers, don’t worry, we will have our own convenience store next year. I was crazy. I didn’t think well enough… I just said I was going to do it.
— HAchubby
After a year of saving money and with the help of her family, she was eventually able to find a small retail space for rent in Busan, the city closest to her home. In November 2020, she finally signed the lease and got to work.
The whole store had to be refurbished, and although HAchubby planned to open the convenience store in 2020, she wasn’t able to finish everything last year. Luckily, she had the support of her loyal subscribers, who helped her with everything from logo design to uniform ideas.
Everyone was looking forward to it. A lot of people sent me cheering messages. Some viewers even supported me with donations… I’m thankful to everyone who helped me make it. I don’t think I’d be able to make it on my own.
— HAchubby
And eventually, at the beginning of this year, HAchubby’s work finally paid off. As of January, HAchuMart is finally open for business!
The adorable store is decorated in a pink color scheme to match her streaming brand, along with puppy plushies for decoration. Alongside being stocked with all the items you’d need to buy, the store features a television screen outside that shows HAchubby’s streams in real-time.
Unsurprisingly, HAchubby was overwhelmed with joy at finally achieving the goal she and her followers had been working towards. Now 31 years old, HAchubby has 266,000 followers cheering her own, helping her learn English, and watching her work.
Opening the store hasn’t been without its challenges, but it’s been an amazing journey for the HAchubby online family. “This is not just another convenience store,” she explained in her video, “HAchuMart is the result of many people working together to make a dream come true.”
Watch HAchubby’s journey for yourself here:
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