Retired skater's singer boyfriend piles on the weight
KangNam from 2011 as an M.I.B member, left, and himself from Instagram Thursday. Korea Times file, capture from Instagram
By Ko Dong-hwan
Trot singer KangNam, who has been dating former Korean national speed skater Lee Sang-hwa for months, made headlines Friday with his social network update showing him 18 kilograms heavier.
The former member of K-pop boy band M.I.B juxtaposed his “before” image ― slender and fit ―next to his chubbier picture on
. It has drawn more than 17,000 likes.
The star, 32, said he had gained the weight over the past six months and would go on a diet.
Local news reports said he had gained weight after he began dating Lee. His weight gain also came after he launched in March
on which he hosts "drunken conversations" with guests while drinking alcoholic beverages.
Lee Sang-hwa after finishing second in the women's 500-meter speed skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Korea Times file
On Thursday, KangNam appeared on TV entertainment talk show “Happy Together” on KBS and hinted that his relationship with Lee remained intact.
In March, the singer revealed he had started dating Lee ― the 500-meter gold medalist in 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi and a silver winner at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics ― in October 2018.
He said he met Lee in September 2018 while shooting SBS TV's reality show "Law of the Jungle," in which celebrities strive to survive in wild, uninhabited regions using natural resources.
KangNam, born Namekawa Yasuo, was born to Korean mother and Japanese father in Tokyo.
Debuting with the band in 2011, he signed with an entertainment agency chaired by seasoned trot singer Tae Jin-ah and started releasing collaboration singles.