The standard of beauty in South Korean culture, especially its entertainment industry, is widely regarded as narrow and harsh. Its beauty benchmark isn’t very inclusive of all body types, face shapes, skin tones and many other aspects. The ideal Korean beauty standard for idols is a thin or slim figure, extremely pale skin and a ‘V’ cut face shape. Idols often go through extensive surgery to attain these requirements before actually debuting, with some undergoing surgeries in the midst of being an idol.
One of the most shocking things idols have commit to is their diet plan, and I’m not talking about any regular diet plan. These are extreme and even dangerous regimens. Of course, being in good shape is important, especially if you’re an idol, because your day-to-day schedule comprises singing and dancing, which requires a lot of energy and body movement. But some idols have taken it a step too far with their diet routines.
Let’s look briefly at some of the idols and their extreme diet plans.
1. BTS, Park Jimin
When Jimin first debuted, he had “daddy” abs – but over the years, the boy gained a lil bit of weight, and soon, fans started calling him chubby. So, Jimin, who is a very dedicated and determined singer/dancer, set a goal to achieve the most chiseled body ever – and, woo!, that boy went from Mochi Jimin to Daddy Jimin.
How did it all happen so fast? It was due to his diet plan which caused him to lose a bunch of weight within 2 years. The extreme diet which he followed is now even named after him, the ‘Jimin Diet’. He would only eat one meal a day for 10 days, accompanied by a brutal exercise routine. One of the toughest phases for Jimin was during the ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ period, when he would often faint during rehearsals due to the brutal diet plan and exercise (according to his team members). And some time later, his diet plan also included not consuming any food – just water!
2. IU
Pretty sure you know K-pop’s sweetheart, IU. The most gorgeous young lady in all of K-pop, if I do say so myself. It took her a lot of hard work and dedication to get where she is now, both career wise and physique wise. Yup, IU too had gone on an extreme diet routine to achieve the to-die-for body she has now.
Her diet routine included eating one apple for breakfast, consuming two sweet potatoes for lunch and drinking only protein shakes for dinner, with no munching on snacks in between. She revealed this very unusual diet plan that she strictly adhered to on the SBS Show Night Of Tv Entertainment. This brutal plan apparently worked extremely well for her, because she was able to lose 5kg in just 5 days.
And here I am, finding something to munch on every 5 mins!
3. Gugudan, Kang Mina
Kang Mina, from Gugudan, a now-defunct K-pop group, also shared with her fans her extreme diet plan that she strictly followed during her days as an idol. She confessed that her diet routine in the KBS show Happy Together 4 was severe, and also said she hated wearing short sleeved tops for fear that she might look chubby in them.
Kang Mina admitted to only surviving on two bottles of sparkling water a day and completely cutting down on her solid food intake. Her rapid weight loss transformation left fans shocked and curious. She was just 47.1 kg at her tiniest, after all that brutal dieting.
4. BigBang, T.O.P
All my V.I.P’s, where ya’ll at? You wouldn’t think someone as perfect as T.O.P from BigBang would have done extreme dieting. But T.O.P was actually a lil chubby before his debut and indeed, he went on an extreme crash diet. He is considered one of K-pop’s most ideal-looking idols, and even though it’s been quite some time since BigBang disbanded, he still remains iconic for his out of this world looks.
T.O.P’s diet involved only drinking water and eating sweet red bean jelly in a day, for 40 days. He had completely cut down on solid food and only consumed water – and stuck to a vigorous workout routine. He visibly lost 20kg in just 40 days.
5. Itzy, Lia
Itzy’s Lia was also a lil chubby (well, I wouldn’t call it chubby) when she had just debuted. She, too, had to go through the extreme diet routine.
It is learnt that she would only have a fruit smoothie for breakfast, or skip breakfast altogether. For lunch, Lia only had cherry tomatoes and other vegetables. I’m guessing her lunch would consist of salad bowls on a daily basis, and she usually had her dinner at around 5 or 6pm. I mean, judging from the before and after images above, her diet plan seemed to have really paid off. She looks gorgeous in both pics, by the way!
I’m pretty sure most of us wouldn’t even last an hour committing to such brutal diets and workout routines. Notice how I keep saying brutal? Cause IT IS! At least, for the human body. Nonetheless, the idols’ before and after images looks stunning, and all those days of not eating sure did pay off, I guess.
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