Why these Korean stars had breast implants — then chose to remove them

Three Korean celebrities are drawing renewed attention for candidly discussing their experiences with breast augmentation — and why they ultimately decided to have their implants removed.

Actor Hwang Jung-eum, TV personality Hong Jin-kyung and comedian Kim Hye-sun underwent breast augmentation for different reasons, ranging from beauty trends to relationships and personal insecurities. All three later chose to remove their implants, describing physical discomfort or changes in how they viewed their bodies.

Hwang, a former member of first-generation K-pop girl group Sugar who later established herself as an actor, recently opened up about her breast surgery on her YouTube channel while discussing a recent incident that drew attention to her going braless.

"I don't wear one at home so often that it became a habit," Hwang said. "I can't wear anything with built-in cups because it feels too restrictive."

Hwang said she wanted a larger chest when she was younger and underwent breast augmentation in 2010 without telling anyone, including her family.

"Breast surgery was popular in 2010," she said.

At the time, Hwang was appearing in the hit TV drama "Giant." She jokingly told viewers they would notice a difference in her figure if they looked back at footage from the series.

But Hwang said the recovery was uncomfortable. She experienced poor circulation and ate heavily while recuperating, gaining considerable weight.

"My mom fed me so much that I gained a lot of weight," she said. "It started to feel like too much for my body, and even my back became hunched."

Hwang eventually had the implants removed.

"These days, not having surgery is the trend. So I had them removed," she said, adding that the removal procedure was less painful than the original surgery. "My body feels so comfortable. I don't know why I did it."

She also spoke candidly about having cosmetic procedures on her face.

"I don't know why I had facial surgery either," Hwang said. "My mom and dad gave me good features, so I didn't really need it, but I spent my own money and messed everything up. Now I'm spending even more money trying to restore it."

Hwang is not the only Korean celebrity to have publicly discussed reversing breast augmentation.

TV personality and former model Hong Jin-kyung said on the SBS program "Magic Eye" in 2014 that she had undergone breast augmentation before getting married and later had the implants removed.

Hong said she had not originally been insecure about the size of her chest, but changed her mind after entering a relationship. Standing 180 centimeters (5 feet 11 inches) tall with a slender build, she said she chose implants that were large relative to her frame.

Her then-partner, whom she later married, did not know about the augmentation.

"He didn't know I'd had breast surgery, but he probably knew when I had the implants removed because they suddenly disappeared one day," Hong said. "He was too embarrassed to say anything and pretended not to notice. He spent quite a while looking for them."

Despite the humorous retelling, Hong said the implants had made her physically uncomfortable.

"They didn't feel like part of my body, and they were so uncomfortable," she said. "They didn't hurt, but after I had them removed, I felt like I could finally live again. It felt like I had returned to my own body."

Hong said she regretted neither getting the implants nor removing them, explaining that otherwise she might have wondered what it would have been like to undergo the procedure.

Comedian Kim Hye-sun has shared a more emotional story behind her decision.

Kim, who is married to her German husband, Stephan, said on the SBS reality show "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny" in 2023 that hurtful comments from a former partner had contributed to her decision to undergo breast augmentation.

"Someone I dated before saw my persona and hurt me by saying, 'You're like a man. You're not a woman,'" Kim said. "I mistakenly thought that was love."

She said her desire to be loved eventually led her to have breast augmentation.

Afterward, however, Kim said she realized the relationship had been unhealthy and left Korea to study in Germany.

While living there, she began experiencing problems with one of her breasts.

"It hurt. I thought something was wrong," Kim said. "The problems kept happening even after I met my husband. I worried because removing them would change my figure."

After discussing it with Stephan, she decided to undergo implant removal surgery.

Kim became emotional while recalling his reaction afterward.

"The first thing he did was hug me and say, 'I'm so happy because your heart is closer to me now,'" she said.

Stephan said, "I love Hye-sun just the way she is."

This article from Xportsnews was adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.