Leading K-Drama Actress’s Emotional Journey Behind 30kg Weight Loss
Shin So Yul opened up about a painful experience that pushed her into an extreme diet and caused her to lose 30kg (66 lbs).
The controversy began when the actress revealed how a hurtful comment from her then-boyfriend and his friends triggered her drastic weight loss journey.
Before fame, Shin So Yul weighed around 75kg (165 lbs) and wore a size 77 (Korean sizing) during college. At a gathering with her boyfriend and his friends, one friend asked,
“Shouldn’t your girlfriend lose some weight?”
Her boyfriend agreed. It didn’t stop there. Another person asked,
“Don’t you stop seeing her as a woman when she’s that overweight,”
and her boyfriend replied,
“She’s more like a younger sibling.”
The harsh remarks left a deep impact. Shin So Yul said she immediately began an extreme diet, eating almost nothing for more than 40 days. When hunger was unbearable, she ate just a single raw cabbage leaf.
Within about a month and a half, she lost nearly 30kg. She dropped from size 77 to size 44. People around her had a hard time believing the transformation was real.
*Shin’s “before.”*
Afterwards, Shin So Yul said people treated her completely differently. Male upperclassmen who barely noticed her before suddenly started buying her meals and paying more attention.
Many are focusing on the heartbreaking motivation behind the weight loss rather than just the transformation itself.
Content Warning: This story includes descriptions of dieting and body image issues.