Jeong Seon-ah "I'm not skinny, I gained up to 70kg after pregnancy"

Musical actress Jeong Sun-ah revealed that she gained 22kg due to pregnancy.

On the afternoon of the 9th, Jeong Seon-ah told various stories about the musical 'Ifden' at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Ifden' is a work that depicts Elizabeth, who returns to New York 12 years after her divorce to work in the city planning department, and lives different lives as Liz and Beth depending on her choices. Jeong Seon-ah takes on the role of Elizabeth in the play and delicately expresses the character's ever-changing emotions and concerns.

Jeong Sun-ah married a businessman who is one year younger than her in 2021 and had a daughter last year. For her, ‘Ifden’ is her musical comeback after giving birth.

On this day, Jeong Seon-ah said, "It's been a month since the opening of 'Ifden'. Personally, I am performing happily. Everyone would say that they are happy with all the performances they do, but I was very worried because it was my return after a long time. 'What if I don't receive as much love as before?' “Of course I was worried. It felt good to be on stage. I thought it was good to receive applause from the audience, and I have continued to do it with a lot of heart since the first performance.”

Sunah Jeong talked about why she chose 'Ifden' as her return to the stage. He said, "In the past, I have shown works with characters or strong characters. I have shown special and splendid appearances such as Glinda and Amneris, which many people love. I also made a lot of choices and concerns. I am very lucky that this work came to me at this time. “He explained.

He continued, "I once said that I wanted to show something dramatic. I also wanted to do a play, and I wanted to get close to the audience in a small theater instead of a large one, with a big wig and less makeup. I was also afraid. When a musical came to me, I wanted to do something like that. "He gave me a love call for more flashy and characterful works. There was a part of me that thought that one day I could do something like a small theater or a play and that it would be nice to try it, but I lacked the courage," he added.

Jeong Seon-ah said, "After getting married and having a child, I gained a lot of courage. I wanted to pioneer a path I had never tried before and follow it. In 'Ifden', there is a story about pregnancy and childbirth. 'If I don't do it, who will do it?' That was my thought. In fact, I wondered if I would have been able to act with great care if I had come across this work before I got married or had children. I also worried a lot about whether I would be able to make the audience really empathize. If I had done this work back then, I couldn't have done it. “I think I did. After getting married and having a baby, doing this work made me cry and it became natural even without me acting,” he explained.

He also made everyone laugh by saying, "Whether I wanted to or not, my life as an actor seems to be heading in a certain direction. I had no intention of getting married. I think people who don't (have any intention of getting married) go by very quickly." He said, "I was a non-marriage person. I wasn't the kind of person who liked children that much. I never thought of children as being that pretty, but without realizing it, I was carving out a path for myself whether I wanted it or not, and I ended up becoming the perfect person for that position. I also followed this path. “I never thought about my mother when I came here, but as I get older, I think my depth as an actor has expanded,” he said, laughing.

Jeong Seon-ah said, "I came back through this work right after giving birth. I was worried until I uploaded this performance. My physical strength was definitely different. I gave birth naturally and gained 22kg. I thought, 'How can I lose weight as an actress?' ‘I gained 22kg after giving birth’, ‘I guess I can lose it, right?’ "I thought this. They said I would lose weight after giving birth, but they said no. (Before giving birth) I went on a strict diet. I heard a lot of people say that my body wouldn't be the same after giving birth. At the time, I said, 'Because I'm young,' but the adults were right." .

Jeong Seon-ah said, “I was away for a year and a half, and I started to think, ‘Have the audience forgotten me?’, ‘Will I be loved when I appear in a new way?’, ‘Will my voice be heard?’ Woman who gave birth to a child I would worry about it, but my vocal cord muscles have changed, so shouldn't I be able to stand on stage with that as a plus? I was very afraid that I would hear things like 'Jungseon, your voice got weird after giving birth' or 'your singing got weird', or that I would get hurt, or that I would regret it. "he said.

Not only that, "When you're pregnant, it's almost 10 months before you give birth. I worked until I was 5 to 6 months pregnant. It was nice to do a donation concert at the end of the year and sing a duet song with (Kim) Junsu from 'West Side Story', but I had to wait 4 months." It didn't go away. Like Liz in the second act of 'Ifden,' I cursed and tried to hate the child, saying to myself, 'I have to work to live, it's because of you.' As my body grew, my self-esteem collapsed a lot. I was naturally skinny. "It wasn't, but I worked hard to lose weight while exercising. I don't know how I lost it, but I gained 22kg after getting pregnant and ended up weighing over 70kg."

Jeong Seon-a said, "I couldn't miss this work. I thought, 'Jung Seon-ah, this is a work that fits my life perfectly, so I have to do this work even when the cold wind blows in my body and my body feels cold.' I also exercised to recover quickly after giving birth to my child. “I worked hard for a year and a half, including taking vocal lessons. It wasn’t that long of a time. Of course, it wasn’t a short time at all. As an actor, I felt more recovered by meeting the audience quickly.”

Meanwhile, the musical 'Ifden' starring Jeong Seon-ah will be performed at Hongik University's Daehakro Art Center on February 26.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr