Cho Yeo-jeong trembles over jajangmyeon: "Only twice a year"

Actress Cho Yeo-jeong has revealed the secrets behind her impeccable self-discipline even at the age of 45. From the ingredients in her refrigerator to the foods she avoids and the "cheating menus" she rarely allows herself, she has been managing everything strictly, yet within that, there were unexpectedly human struggles. In particular, her confession that she eats jajangmyeon and ramen only once or twice a year drew laughter while demonstrating just how persistent her self-discipline is.

On the 16th, Cho and Ha Seok-jin appeared on JTBC's 'Chef & My Fridge'. During the broadcast, Cho's refrigerator, reflecting her long-standing career as an actress, was revealed, naturally showcasing her daily eating habits and body management methods.

Cho's refrigerator was much simpler than expected. Rather than being filled with particularly fancy or expensive ingredients, it was filled minimally with foods that suit her and those she must avoid.

While stating that she likes buckwheat and mung beans, she explained that she almost never eats dairy products or meat. The reason was, "If I eat meat frequently, my body struggles. I cannot eat things that increase my internal heat." Garlic and onions were also hard to find in her refrigerator.

In a situation where chefs had to cook using the contents of her refrigerator, Cho even said, "I am sorry that there are so few ingredients." For a guest on a food program, the contents were excessively frugal.

However, this does not mean Cho has given up the joy of eating itself. Rather, she candidly admitted that she likes sweet foods like cake and donuts, but she consciously controls her sugar intake in her daily life. Although there are many foods she likes, she has compromised with her appetite by not eating them every day.

Even for someone like Cho, there are foods she specially allows herself. These are high-calorie foods such as jajangmyeon, ramen, and pizza.

But the frequency is surprising. Cho said, "I tried to eat jajangmyeon and ramen only once a year. I set that rule for myself." While an average dieter might think of 'once a week,' for her, the standard was once a year.

However, excessively strict rules inevitably became a source of fatigue for her.

Cho confessed, "I started feeling a sense of futility last year. So now, I eat them twice a year." She has slightly relaxed the standard she set for herself. She then made the studio burst into laughter by saying, "When I eat them, my hands tremble."

Though it sounds like a joke, these words fully capture the lifestyle of Cho, who has managed her body for a long time as an actress. It is not a method of giving up everything through a single binge, but rather a way of extremely limiting the foods she wants to eat while allowing them within a certain boundary.

Cho first made her face known in the entertainment industry as a magazine model in 1997 and began her full-fledged acting career with the film 'The Face' in 1999. Since then, she has steadily built her filmography moving between films and dramas. In particular, she expanded her presence as an actress by showing entirely different faces depending on the genre and character through works such as 'The Servant,' 'The Concubine,' and 'Parasite.'

In dramas, she has demonstrated stable acting skills through various works such as 'I Need Romance,' 'Haeundae Lovers,' 'Perfect Wife,' and 'Woman of 9.9 Billion.' Having debuted at a relatively young age and stood before the public for decades, managing her appearance and physical strength has become a part of her professional self-discipline.

In particular, for Cho, her physical image itself often becomes a crucial element of a character. For an actress, weight and body shape are not merely matters of appearance, but a means of expression that determines the persuasiveness of the character on screen. In that sense, her eating habits are closer to long-term self-control for standing before the camera rather than a simple 'diet to avoid gaining weight.'

Nevertheless, she declared an exception on this day.

Cho expressed her anticipation, saying, "Today, I want to eat as deliciously as possible. I will gladly eat high-calorie food," and "I want to eat everything, including dessert."

She intends to fully enjoy the jajangmyeon, ramen, and pizza—foods she usually only allows herself once or twice a year—along with dessert on this day.

Perhaps Cho's secret to management is not in unconditional endurance. Instead of constantly suppressing what she wants to eat, she creates her own standards and occasionally allows deviations within those standards. Changing the rule from 'once a year' to 'twice a year' can also be seen as a process of finding a realistic balance rather than insisting on perfection.

The sight of a 45-year-old actress saying her "hands tremble" in front of a bowl of jajangmyeon is both humorous and poignant. For a star who has maintained her beauty for so long, even enjoying a favorite meal remains a moment that requires a small act of courage.

Ultimately, what Cho showed on this day was not perfect management, but a 'compromise between discipline and desire.' And in that moment of compromise, she revealed the face of an ordinary person who simply wants to enjoy a bowl of jajangmyeon without guilt.