South Korean actress Lee Sung Kyung is gracing the cover of Instyle Korea's October issue, wherein the 26-year-old star opened up about gaining weight to play the titular role in MBC's "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo."
"I've already put on four kilograms," Lee told the fashion magazine, as cited by Soompi. "I wanted to be healthy and work out while adding weight, but in the end, I'm just eating a lot."
The drama, currently in pre-production, follows a 20-year-old female weightlifter, Kim Bok-Joo, who falls in love for the first time. She hides her uncertainties and fragile heart under her strong exterior.
Apart from Lee, "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" actor Nam Joo-Hyuk has also been cast to play a genius swimmer Jang Joon-Hyung. He suffers a trauma that started after he got disqualified at his first big international competition.
"Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo" has been getting attention for its A-list cast, which includes Lee Jae Yoon, Kyung Soo Jin, Kim Jae Hyun and Ray Yang. It also reunites Lee and Nam, who previously starred in tvN's "Cheese in the Trap."
The screenplay of the upcoming coming-of-age sports drama is inspired by the life of Olympic gold medalist Jang Mi-Ran. It will be directed by program director Oh Hyun Joong, based on a script penned by Yang Hee-Seung.
In other news, Lee previously celebrated the successful run of SBS's "Doctors" with a free hug event at a children's hospital in Incheon, South Korea, along with co-star Yoon Kyun-Sang, Naver reported. It was part of Lee's promise to hold a special activity once the SBS medical drama surpassed the 20 percent milestone ratings.
An unnamed source told the news outlet that both Lee and Yoon wanted to encourage patients who were having a hard time. While the young ones were happy to embrace the two stars, both Lee and Yoon apparently received more energy after seeing them bravely battling their sicknesses.
Check out Lee as Jin Seo Woo in SBS's "Doctors" below: