[Harumanbo Harucheonja] "I Overcame Depression by Climbing 20-Story Stairs 10 Times"

Actor Choi Wanjeong Overcomes Anxiety During Acting Hiatus by Walking
Wants to Promote the Benefits of Stair Climbing Exercise and Share a Healthy Life

"One of the best decisions I ever made in my life was to start climbing stairs. I just put on my sneakers and step out the front door, so it costs nothing. Even if I sweat and my face turns red, I don’t have to worry about what others think. Rain or snow, I can do it 365 days a year."

Choi Wan-jung (55), an actress with 38 years of experience and the head of the Dapsimni Film Media Art Center in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. She has also been active as a singer and entrepreneur, and holds an additional business card as the 'President of the Korea Stair Climbing and Walking Association.' After successfully losing weight and regaining her mental health through stair climbing, she started this endeavor with the ambition to widely promote stair climbing to the entire nation and share a healthy life together.

Actor Choi Wan-jung, director of Dapsimni Film Media Art Center and president of the Korea Stair Climbing and Walking Association, is climbing the wooden stairs on Baebongdume Sipri-gil heading to Dapsimni Park in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Relieving Anxiety and Stress About the Future by Climbing Apartment Stairs

Choi Wan-jung has appeared as a supporting actress in various works such as "Ladies of the Palace," "The King and I," and "Elegant Mother and Daughter," becoming familiar to viewers. Between 2012 and 2018, she was so busy filming four dramas a year that she earned nicknames like "Kim Tae-hee of morning dramas" and "civil servant of daily dramas." She recalled, "Because the entertainment industry is so irregular, having continuous work without breaks was tough but also a happy thing." However, one day, her next drama role was suddenly canceled, and she experienced an unexpected hiatus, which led to stress and depression. Having always worked nonstop between projects, she suffered from severe insomnia due to anxiety about the future. "I couldn’t sleep even an hour a day, so my concentration dropped, my body’s circulation was poor, and I tried to cope with caffeine, which led to binge eating and rapid weight gain. I lived in a high-rise apartment, but I was so depressed that I imagined falling every day and even heard hallucinations. One day, when I looked in the mirror, my face and body looked pathetic for an actress."

She barely mustered the courage to go to a local sports center, but felt the harsh stares and whispers from people looking at an unkempt celebrity. She couldn’t show her daughter a mother breaking down like that. So, she pulled her hat down and started climbing the apartment stairs. Taking breaks along the way, it took her over 40 minutes to reach the 20th floor at first. Still, after climbing once, she felt proud of herself. On the first day, she climbed once; on the second day, twice. After about two weeks of stair climbing, her body was so exhausted that she would fall asleep before 10 p.m.

Actor Choi Wan-jung, director of Dapsimni Film Media Art Center and president of the Korea Stair Climbing and Walking Association, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 9th. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

"Strangely, because I slept well, my heart, which was full of anger, softened. I came to understand the PD I resented for the drama scheduling mishap, and sweating profusely improved my skin. Looking back on the time from my debut until just yesterday, many memories surfaced, making me cry. At the same time, I thought about whether I could truly achieve my calling as an actress until I die, and I kept climbing the stairs again and again." Usually, she climbed the 20 floors of her apartment five times (100 floors), and sometimes up to ten times a day (200 floors), day and night.

Weight Loss and Muscle Training... Quickly Becoming a 'Muscle Queen'

After 5 to 6 months of stair climbing, she lost 10 kg. Her dramatically changed appearance attracted attention from neighbors she met along the way. Someone encouraged her to enter a bodybuilding competition, so she visited a fitness trainer and was praised for having well-toned legs thanks to all the stair climbing. Stair climbing is both an aerobic exercise and one that stimulates small muscles throughout the body, creating elasticity and a defined body line. Combined with her natural height and expressions honed by acting, she placed third in her first fitness competition. After further training, she won three titles at the 2019 'Muscle and Model Asia Championship' held in Beijing, China. Common chronic diseases such as high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes, which often appear after middle age, were completely absent in her case.

After the news of her awards spread, Choi Wan-jung appeared on several TV programs such as "Morning Yard" and "Good Morning," becoming a self-proclaimed 'health evangelist.' She said, "By consistently climbing stairs, I lost weight, improved my posture, and my depression completely disappeared, making me mentally very healthy. I wanted to widely share and help others by telling people around me, 'I did it, so you can too,' and 'Climbing stairs makes you healthy.'" With like-minded people, she launched the Korea Stair Climbing and Walking Association. They held stair climbing and walking competitions with Air Force 5th Air Mobility Wing soldiers and civilian employees in Seomyeon, Busan, and with faculty, staff, and local residents at Korea University Anam Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Currently, about 1,000 people communicate and exercise together through online cafes and social networking services (SNS). "Sometimes, when I receive direct messages (DMs) from fans I don’t even know saying 'Climbing stairs healed my heart' or 'I regained my health,' I feel a calling to deliver a more systematic stair climbing program to more people."

Since February, Choi Wan-jung has also been serving as the director of the Dapsimni Film Media Art Center under Dongdaemun-gu. The center is located on the site of the Dapsimni Comprehensive Film Studio, which led the golden age of Korean film production in the 1960s. She oversees the center’s cultural and artistic education, events, and rentals. Walking up and down the stairs daily from the basement first floor to the third floor above ground, through a 1,000-pyeong (approx. 3,306 sq. meters) studio, performance hall, museum, editing room, and cinema, she easily walks over 10,000 steps a day. She added, "Using my long experience in the entertainment industry and over a decade of business experience, I plan to design education, performances, and exhibitions at the center that embrace the history of Korean cinema and contribute to the local community."