"Exercising to Get Healthy" The Positive Impact of 'Undongddung' Kim Min-kyung [Kim Ga-yeon's Perspective Twist]

"Exercise Healthily Without Starving" 'Undongddung' Kim Min-kyung Gains Popularity↑
Rejecting Social 'Appearance Obsession'... Increasing Number of Women Exercising for a 'Healthy Body'
Rapid Rise in Women's Purchases of Strength Training Equipment Like Sit-up Machines

Broadcaster Kim Min-kyung (left) and broadcaster and trainer Yang Chi-seung (right) / Photo by web variety show "Forced to Do It, Starting Today, Exercise Ddung!" capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "I'm trying to increase muscle mass," "I exercise for health rather than beauty."

Recently, more women are exercising to build a 'healthy body' rather than a 'pretty body.' This trend is growing alongside various content showcasing women exercising, including the web variety show “Sikyeoseo Handa, Oneulbuteo Undongddung!” (Undongddung).

Undongddung is a web variety show produced as a spin-off series of Comedy TV's popular variety show “Delicious Guys” (Matnyeoseok). It was planned as a health project to celebrate Matnyeoseok's 5th anniversary with the theme of "eating healthier." Kim Min-kyung was selected as the first participant of Undongddung at the Matnyeoseok 5th anniversary press conference held in January.

Each episode of Undongddung has gained great popularity, with views ranging from hundreds of thousands to over 3 million. Kim Min-kyung has also received much love from viewers, earning nicknames such as "Geunsujeo" (muscle spoon), "Min-kyung General," and "Min-kyung Grand General."

Female viewers agree that the popularity of Undongddung stems from its focus on exercising for health rather than for slimming down. They emphasize that it highlights "physical training for a healthy body" rather than "weight control for beauty purposes" or "extreme dieting," which are commonly portrayed in mainstream media.

On social media, posts include comments like, "When I went to start personal training, I said I wanted to be like 'Min-kyung General,' and they didn’t even mention dieting. They planned exercises to build strength and flexibility and told me to eat well," "Watching Undongddung made me want to do strength training, not dieting," and "I really like the idea of 'eat as much as you want deliciously and exercise hard.'"

Broadcaster Kim Min-kyung (left) and broadcaster and trainer Yang Chi-seung (right) / Photo by web entertainment program 'Sikyeoseo handa, Oneulbuteo Undongddung!' capture

A in her 20s, a working professional who introduced herself as a devoted viewer of Undongddung, said, "Because I sit in the office for long hours, my body gradually got worse, so I started exercising last year." She added, "When I said I was exercising, I heard all kinds of rude comments about my body shape, but I feel that situation is gradually improving." She continued, "There used to be a social perception that women exercise only to diet, but with Undongddung, that seems to be changing little by little. I hope more programs like this come out."

This phenomenon is also clearly reflected in the sales of strength training equipment.

According to Gmarket, operated by eBay Korea, the purchase volume of strength training equipment by female consumers increased by 32% compared to the same period last year, from the 6th of last month over one month. Among them, the purchase of kettlebells (weighted equipment made of iron balls with handles) nearly doubled, while purchases of barbells and dumbbells increased by 59% and 43%, respectively.

Especially, the purchase of 'sit-up equipment,' which can be used for sit-ups and bench presses, increased by 98% among women. Sales of other strength training equipment such as hand grippers (45%), pull-up bars (40%), push-up bars (36%), and squat machines (15%) also rose.

This trend can also be seen as connected to the growing voices opposing 'body shaming' and 'lookism' directed at women. It reflects women rejecting socially imposed beauty labor and appearance obsession while embracing their own appearance positively.

Body shaming refers to criticism and appearance evaluation directed at people whose looks deviate from socially defined standardized body norms. Lookism is a term coined by William Safire, a columnist for The New York Times, in 2000 to describe discrimination based on appearance or appearance supremacy.

Broadcaster Kim Min-kyung (left) and sports trainer Shim Eu-tteum (right) / Photo by web variety show 'Sikyeoseo Handa, Oneulbuteo Undongddung!' capture

Related research has also shown that because society expects uniform values from women, young adult women may perceive their self and life negatively.

According to the report titled "Gender Differences in Perceptions of Early Adulthood Life and Outcomes through the Korean Education Longitudinal Study" by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) released on the 29th of last month, men's 'self-concept' scores were consistently higher than women's from 2011 to 2018.

The self-concept is scored out of 5 points. Regarding academic self-concept related to academic ability, men maintained a score of 3.17 since 2014, while women's scores dropped from 3.10 to 3.04 in 2018. In non-academic self-concept areas such as social, emotional, and physical domains, men scored higher every year as well.

The researchers emphasized, "Defining someone as a woman and expecting specific appearances, attitudes, and behaviors is like forcing them to wear ill-fitting clothes. Such a society can never be healthy." They added, "To achieve genuine gender equality, education that recognizes and respects diversity is necessary."