Hwang Jung-eum lost 30kg in 5 months—cried during 2.5-hour daily massages

Hwang Jung-eum brought up the story of how she lost as much as 30kg in just 5 months in the past. Her confession that she even cried while receiving 2.5 hours of massage every day is drawing attention again to how harshly she managed her weight for a single drama at the time.

In a video released on her YouTube channel on the 7th, Hwang Jung-eum recalled the time of her first child's birth. She said she gave birth to a 4.18kg baby through natural childbirth and that her weight at the time was 80kg, stating, "I only lost 5kg after giving birth."

As her weight did not decrease easily after childbirth, Hwang Jung-eum entered an extremely intense weight loss period. She revealed, "I crazily lost 30kg in 5 months," and stated that her weight was 47.7kg at the time she thought, "I should stop losing weight now."

There was a specific reason she reduced her weight to this extent. It was for the filming of the drama 'The Undateables'. Hwang Jung-eum clung to weight loss for the work and confessed that she even received massages every single day at the time.

The massage time she revealed was as much as 2.5 hours a day. Excluding weekends, she visited massage shops almost every day for 5 months, and it is said she even cried while receiving massages. It was a difficult time to the point where she herself thought, "Why am I suffering like this when I ate so much?"

The words spoken by the massage director at the time also remain memorable. Hwang Jung-eum, who said she stopped crying after hearing the words, "Be grateful that you have work," confessed that looking back now, she feels she put everything into a single work excessively.

What is more bitter is the performance of 'The Undateables', which she prepared for by almost overworking her body. Hwang Jung-eum recalled, "It is a memory of being so upset," saying, "I really staked my life on that one work to lose weight." She then reflected on herself, saying, "I don't think you need to stake your life on everything. I think being moderate with everything is good."

The SBS 'The Undateables', starring Hwang Jung-eum and Namkoong Min, was broadcast in 2018. Although it started with a 5.3% viewership rating for its first broadcast, it fell to a minimum of 2.1% later, failing to meet expectations. For Hwang Jung-eum, who poured everything into the work, it was a production that left as much regret as the pain of weight loss.

Read the original (Korean)