On the December 29 broadcast of SBS’ “Special Bodymentary – Confessions About Fat,” SISTAR’s Soyou shared her candid story about dieting and the challenges she faced.
Recalling her pre-debut days, Soyou said: “I really wanted sweets. I was obsessed with mini yakgwa (Korean honey cookies). I wanted them so bad I would have snuck into the bathroom to eat them, but I got caught. Some people ran away, some froze in place, and some stuffed biscuits into their mouths.”
He continued: “There was a time when I fainted on the street. A stranger took me to the hospital. I needed a shot, but my first thought was that getting an IV would make me gain weight. I was afraid that my weight would increase if the IV entered my body. That’s how I lost weight and debuted. I was happy because I debuted. I received so much love – it felt surreal. I was extremely busy, shooting commercials and attending events.“
However, after debuting, with no one monitoring her closely, Soyou began ordering whatever food she wanted. Eventually his weight increased. He confessed: “During the “Shady Girl” era, I was skinny, but when we did “How Dare You,” my weight reached its peak. At first people said I looked a little bloated, but eventually they started saying I had gained weight. For a celebrity, it was shocking. I weighed 56kg.”
Faced with pressure from her agency to lose weight again, Soyou resorted to extreme dieting. He revealed: “I ate 4 quail eggs, but removed the yolks. That’s pretty much all I ate. I once went to a friend’s house and they cut up a watermelon. My friends told me it was okay to eat a slice, but I couldn’t eat it. I ended up crying because I couldn’t eat it. I lost 8kg in a month.”
So you’ve thought about the toll his extreme measures have taken on his body and mind,”I went almost two months without eating anything except water, coffee and pills. My weight dropped so much that even my stylist expressed concern. At one point I thought, “I could die today.”“
The singer also shared her struggles during SISTAR’s breakup, admitting: “I thought about retiring when SISTAR broke up because I was so afraid of being alone. The pressure and obsession of being #1 was overwhelming and I felt like I was missing out.Soyou also revealed that she experienced panic disorder during her solo promotions. She said: “While recording a musical show, I suddenly started crying uncontrollably for two hours. When I went to the hospital, I was diagnosed with panic disorder.”
The broadcast also contained footage of Soyou’s visibly somber and emotionless expressions during shows and events, which had previously drawn criticism for her attitude. Reflecting on that time, Soyou said: “The only thing on my mind was not collapsing on stage. I felt like throwing up, my whole body was tense and I couldn’t breathe, but I couldn’t do wrong in front of hundreds of people.”
Addressing social pressure, Soyou said: “The obsession with being thin is intense. If I wasn’t a celebrity, I wouldn’t have followed a diet like this. It’s a dilemma: I need to lose weight, but there’s no other solution than to enjoy the process because it’s my body and I own it.“
