Actor Ko Hyun-jung's visibly thin frame draws health concerns from fans

Actor Ko Hyun-jung, 55, has drawn attention for her noticeably thin frame, with bones visibly prominent.

Ko shared photos on her social media Friday from a jewelry brand advertising shoot.

The images showed her in a range of styles — a red off-shoulder dress with her hair down in a sultry look, and a black dress with her hair up in an elegant updo.

Particularly striking were her shoulders, collarbone and arms, which appeared extremely lean. Some fans expressed concern over her health, commenting that she looked "too thin."

Ko had previously appeared on singer Kang Min-kyung's YouTube channel in May, where she revealed she had undergone emergency surgery in 2020 for complications involving the area connecting her duodenum and pancreas, as well as her stomach. She said she had been managing her health with medication since then, but faced another health crisis earlier this year.

"There were several things that caused me a great deal of stress in 2024," she said, recalling that she had nearly collapsed and needed hospital care. "It wasn't easy to even get into an emergency room given the state of the medical system at the time." She added that she was turned away because she was not a CPR patient, and spent time crying as she went from place to place before finally being admitted and undergoing surgery.

Ko pushed back against speculation that she was on an extreme diet. "People think I'm dieting very aggressively, but that's absolutely not the case," she said. "I never dieted even when I was young — how could I do that now when my health is this poor?" She went on to say that even kimbap, one of her favorite foods, frightened her. "I love kimbap so much, but I'm scared of what might happen if I eat even one or two pieces," she said.