Body Of Work: The Physical Transformations Of Korean Stars Like Han So-Hee And Lee Jung-Jae
Let's get physical.
Han So-hee is fast becoming a familiar face among K-drama fans. Having first risen to popularity for her role in The World of the Married (2020), the 27-year-old captured more hearts earlier this year in her Netflix romantic drama Nevertheless, which also starred the hunky Song Kang.
READ MORE: 30 Must-Watch Shows For The Serious Korean Drama Fan
For those who can’t get enough of Han, here’s some good news for you – her new drama My Name has premiered on Netflix on October 15. But anyone who watches the trailer is in for a huge surprise.
In the new action noir series, Han is no longer the feminine and fashionable girl we got used to in her earlier dramas. Instead, she’s a total badass.
READ MORE: K-Drama Stans, Here’s A List Of Shows To Binge On In 2021
My Name is centred around Ji-woo – played by Han – who becomes consumed with revenge after witnessing her father murdered right in front of her when she was only 17.
Han So-hee ditched her pretty girl image for an ass-kicking role in My Name.
She then approaches her father’s long-time friend Mu-jin (Park Hee-soon), who is the boss of Dongcheon – the country’s largest domestic drug ring – for help. Under him, she infiltrates the police force as Oh Hye-jin in a bid to find her father’s killer.
READ MORE: Blackpink’s Jennie Stars In Her First Chanel Campaign
Fans can look forward to seeing a new side of Han, who told regional media in a virtual press conference on October 5 that she wanted to take on the challenge of portraying Ji-woo.
Han piled on 10kg of muscles to play the role of Ji-woo.
“[Ji-woo’s] desperation and determination was something I could really feel off the pages of the script. [Portraying the character] involved the use of the physical body through the action sequences. That was a new challenge for me,” she said.
READ MORE: Blackpink’s Lisa Just Broke Two Guinness World Records
In order to prepare herself for this role, she trained at an action school for three months prior to the shoot, gaining 10kg of muscles (and a bit of fats, she added) in the process. “Since I worked out a lot, I ate what I wanted. So that’s how I gained 10 kilos,” she explained.
Han trained at an action school for three months prior to shooting My Name.
She learnt how to do action sequences with weapons and not injure her co-stars and her trainers in the course of it. She elaborated: “At first I thought that I would be able to pull it off easily, so I went to action school and attended one day of class. Then I [realised] once you try to fake it, you will end up not succeeding in it. It requires a lot of time and it’s not just me doing it alone, I have to do choreography with my partner."
READ MORE: How Squid Game Star Jung HoYeon Went From Model To Breakout Actress
“It was a lot of pressure, and I was also worried about hurting [others], so I had to be careful all the time, that was quite challenging.”
In the process, she found herself most comfortable using the baton. “[It’s] actually the softest weapon, as it’s made of rubber. I had the least amount of pressure hitting someone with the baton because of that.” Han added she feels physically stronger from all that training, and has taken up kickboxing.
She isn’t the only one who underwent a big image transformation in their careers. Here are other stars who did the same.
Lee Si-young, 39, played the doll-like Oh Min-ji in Boys Over Flowers (2009), Geum Jan-di’s best friend who eventually betrays her.
In the years after the hit drama, Lee went on to become an amateur boxer, clinching several titles in the 48kg-weight class.
Despite her stint in the combat sport, her role as a former firefighter in last year's Sweet Home (pictured) was still a surprise to fans as she showed off her very muscular physique. She learnt her action stunts six months before filming started, and her fitness regime included push-ups, pull-ups, tyre workouts, and rope activities.
With all the Squid Game mania going on right now, who can forget Lee Jung-jae, 48, also known as Player 456?
In the viral Netflix series, Lee plays Gi-hun, a deadbeat father who is heavily in debt. When he’s not dressed in the famous green-and-white tracksuit for the games, Gi-hun has a rather dirty and unkempt appearance, sporting a shaggy mop with a khaki jacket.
Don’t be fooled by his appearance in the show, though, Jun-jae is actually quite the hunk. In the '90s and early aughts, he was the heartthrob in several Korean films such as An Affair (1998), and City of the Rising Sun (1999). He also had a rather iconic shirtless scene in the 2005 movie Typhoon (pictured).
Ahn Bo-hyun, 33, plays Jeon Pil-do, the ace of the police drug investigation unit, in My Name. He’s swapped out his dorky look in the drama Yumi’s Cells (pictured) – currently showing on iQiyi – for a sharp and suave image.
South Korean actor Heo Sung-tae, who plays the villain in the hit Netflix series Squid Game, shared with Allkpop that he gained 15 to 17kg in one month, to play the role of Jang Deok-su.
“The projects I had planned were all postponed due to Covid-19. I lost weight while taking a break for five months but then I was contacted by the production team of Squid Game,” he said.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk was concerned about his sudden weight loss, given that the physique of Deok-soo was “vital to the character”.
After filming Squid Game, Heo was able to lose 10kg but the rapid weight gain had already taken a toll on his health.
He said: “The muscles on my calf tore and also my knees hurt. Overall, my health depleted. It doesn’t matter about losing weight but I think I have to carefully consider if I am given another role where I have to gain weight. I think gaining weight is three times harder than losing weight.”
This article first appeared in AsiaOne