[SBS Star] Lee Sung Kyoung Says She Still Has Stretch Marks from Weight Gain for 'Kim Bok-joo'

Actress Lee Sung Kyoung shared that she still has stretch marks from weight gain for her role in MBC's 2016 series 'Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo'.

On February 5 episode of K-pop boy group BTS SUGA's YouTube show, Lee Sung Kyoung joined as a guest. 

During the conversation with SUGA, Lee Sung Kyoung revealed what she finds difficult about acting. 

"I still don't know whether to take on a role that nobody expected me to play, or I should just stick to acting those characters that many have liked me acting. I find it hard to balance between those two things because there's no right answer to it." 
SUGA replied, "Personally, I remember your role as a weightlifter 'Kim Bok-joo' in 'Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo' the most. Didn't you put on lots of weight for your role as well?" 

Nodding, Lee Sung Kyoung answered, "Yeah, I weighed about 10 kg more than how much I weigh now. I still have stretch marks from rapid weight gain back then. I gained weight so quickly at the time." 

She explained why she had to rush, "Filming for 'Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo' began only 15 days after I wrapped up 'The Doctors'. I didn't have time to do it step by step. On top of that, I had commercials and photo shoots in between those 15 days. I pretty much had to gain weight as the shooting began." 
Taken aback by her reveal, SUGA gasped and asked, "How did you pull it off then? It must've been tough!" 

Lee Sung Kyoung responded, "Yeah, it was. So, the first thing I did was to try making my face swollen so that I could at least make my face look fat. I even had spicy galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) late at night. Up to that point, I have never had spicy galbi-jjim before." 

She continued, "If my face looked swollen from a late-night salty meal the next morning, I would get so happy. I would be like, 'Yes! This is awesome!' then headed to the shooting site."
 
Although it was not easy, Lee Sung Kyoung noted at the end that it was all worth it, "To be honest, I wasn't worried about weight gain at all. I was more scared that I wasn't going to look like my weightlifter character, since most people saw me as a skinny model then." 

"My body couldn't take in such a great amount of food at night, so I would often have digestive problems. But I felt proud of myself. I felt like I was finally becoming a real actress," she added with a smile.  
 
(Credit= 'BANGTANTV' YouTube, MBC Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo) 

(SBS Star)