Actor Hwang Jung-eum. [Newsis]
Actor Hwang Jung-eum. [Newsis]

Actor Hwang Jung-eum has said she lost about 30 kg in five months after her weight climbed to 80 kg following the birth of her first child.

A video titled "The day I started my semi-automatic diet" was posted to Hwang's YouTube channel Wednesday.

Hwang said her current weight is 54 kg and that she has set a goal of 51.7 kg. "At 57 kg, I feel too uncomfortable and unhealthy — I'm just not in a good mood," she said, adding that she had returned to managing her weight in order to find a body she felt at ease in.

She also spoke about the dramatic weight gain she experienced during her first pregnancy. "My first child was born weighing 4.1 kg. I got up into the 80s," she said. "After giving birth, only about 5 kg came off, and I just fell apart mentally."

With a drama comeback on the horizon, she threw herself into an intense weight-loss regimen. "From that point, I think I lost 30 kg in five months like a madwoman," she said, adding that she ultimately brought her weight down to 47.7 kg.

The urgency was driven by her return to television. She made her post-birth acting comeback in "The Undateables," an SBS drama series that aired in 2018. "I got massages for two to two and a half hours a day, every day except weekends, for five months," she said. "I cried through every single one."

She recalled sobbing and thinking, "What kind of suffering is this — all because I ate too much?" — only to be told by the clinic director, "Be grateful that you have work." "When I heard that, I stopped crying," she said with a laugh.

The drama fell short of expectations. "The Undateables" opened to a 5.3 percent viewership rating (Nielsen Korea, nationwide) but hovered in the 2 to 3 percent range throughout its run, ultimately finishing at 2.8 percent.

"The Undateables didn't do well. I remember being so heartbroken," Hwang said. "I staked everything on that one project just to lose the weight, but I think you don't need to stake everything on anything. Moderation is probably best in all things."


min3654@heraldcorp.com