“I ate until I felt like throwing up”: Jang Dong Yoon’s Talks about Transforming into a Wrestler

Actor Jang Dong Yoon reveals his weight gain journey to play a wrestler in Like Flowers in Sand.

On January 31, actor Jang Dong Yoon conducted interviews during which he shared his experiences acting as a wrestler in Like Flowers in Sand.

When asked about his impressions on the conclusion of the drama, Jang Dong Yoon expressed his affection for the work, saying, “Playing the character Kim Baek Doo was truly fortunate and a great experience for me. He is a character full of humanity and charm, so I healed a lot while filming.” “Because it’s a youth drama and rom-com genre, I didn’t feel like saying goodbye to it.”

Given that his character is a wrestler in the drama, there were risks of injuries. Jang Dong Yoon explained, “It’s true that it is a sport with a high risk of injury, but we managed to film safely without any major injuries. However, there were unavoidable aspects, such as bruising when using satba [a band tied around the waist and legs used as a handle in ssireum]. It’s not that it was done wrong; even real athletes face such situations.”

He further added, “There were times when fighting with shoulders put a strain on the joints. It was a sport I hadn’t tried before, so I faced such things, but I recovered quickly. Rather than having any serious injuries, it was more about getting sand in my eyes, redness of the skin, and things like that. There were no safety issues at all.”

Before the release of Like Flowers in Sand, Jang Dong Yoon mentioned during the drama’s press conference that he gained 14kg for the role of Kim Baek Doo. Regarding this transformation, he commented, “I have returned to my usual weight now, [that I maintained] before [I tried to gain for the character of] Kim Baek Doo. I usually maintain around 67-68kg, but during the filming, I weighed over 80kg. I lost weight during filming but reached my peak weight, so it was nice to see [myself more like] a wrestler.” 

Talking about the challenges he faced while gaining weight, Jang Dong Yoon said, “I ate until [I felt like] throwing up to gain weight, and I was very happy until I gained 10kg. I love mulhoe (raw fish soup) so much that I always had two bowls of it. It was tough when I exceeded the ideal weight of 80kg. It felt like I had reached my limit, so it wasn’t easy.”

He further stated, “I had indigestion. Because I ate about five meals a day and lots of snacks, my body became sluggish and my joints ached. Because I gained weight so rapidly, I couldn’t handle the weight. I suffered from shoulder and back pain. Even after losing weight, my eating habits remained. It was not easy to prevent yo-yoing,” he said.

The actor also told how losing weight has now become harder for him than it was in the past. He said, “I gain weight easily and lose weight easily, but it has become more difficult than in the past. In the past, if I exercised and dieted, I would lose weight, but this time, I wouldn’t lose weight unless I went super hard [on myself]. I’ve been doing a lot of intermittent fasting recently.”

Sources (1)(2)