Actor Kang Mina lost 13kg and found the role of her life.
Kang Mina conducted an end-of-series interview for the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama See You at Work Tomorrow! (writer Kim Kyungmin, director Jo Eun-sol, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Studio Dragon·KROSS Pictures) on the 29th at a café in Ppalpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
See You at Work Tomorrow! is an office romance that depicts seventh-year office worker Cha Ji-yoon (Park Ji-hyun), who has fallen into everyday ennui, becoming the irreplaceable best for her prickly boss Kang Si-woo (Seo Inguk). It realistically captures the lives of office workers who struggle between dreams and reality amid repetitive routines and intense company life, and tells the story of young people who grow in both work and love.
Kang Mina played Yoon No-a, a fifth-year K-office worker who has a pretty face and a smart mind but delivers an unexpected clumsiness and honest emotional expression that create a subtle twist. After debuting with the group I.O.I, Kang Mina transitioned to acting and worked on Hotel Del Luna, Moonshine, Cafe Minamdang, Welcome to Samdalri, Twelve and others. After a breakup with her boyfriend, she added energy to the story by announcing she would live for herself and lead a self-directed life.
After the end of See You at Work Tomorrow!, Kang Mina said, "It ended much sooner than I thought, so I have some regrets. It still doesn't feel real, but I felt very happy thinking back to the period of filming from last summer to winter. It was an honor to film with such great seniors. I want to tell actor Won Gyubin that he worked hard. The first people I'm most thankful for are the viewers," she said.
Kang Mina said she initially declined the offer to appear in See You at Work Tomorrow!. She said, "The director offered me the role, but I was talking about other projects at the time, so I politely declined. But at the first meeting the director gave me a very large bouquet, and that kind of event was the first for me. I'm the kind of woman who is affected by gestures, so I was moved and decided to appear," she said.
It wasn't just the bouquet event that made her decide to appear. Kang Mina said, "The long-term relationship narrative itself was also burdensome. I was considering other works, so I think I initially declined. What convinced me was that I had never done a melodrama with deep narrative. That part attracted me. I wanted to show viewers that I had had this kind of relationship and to clearly explain Yoon No-a's point of moving into her next relationship," she said.
Because her previous work If Wishes Could Kill was so intense, she may have hesitated to appear in See You at Work Tomorrow!. Kang Mina said, "I worried at first because I played an evil character in the previous work, and in this work I had to shed the high school image and appear like an office worker. Because of that worry I lost a lot of weight. I wanted viewers not to see the If Wishes Could Kill image and to see Yoon No-a herself in See You at Work Tomorrow!. To create a face that fits an office drama, I lost about 13kg. There was a lot to trim. I kept losing weight while filming See You at Work Tomorrow!. At first I disliked and generally avoided exercise, so I took many walks to move a little more. I greatly reduced sodium, made sandwiches a staple and ate a lot of vegetables, and that led to weight loss," she said.
As a result of efforts put into both external and internal aspects, Kang Mina received reactions that she was visually pretty through See You at Work Tomorrow! and was evaluated as more mature in her acting. Regarding this praise, Kang Mina laughed and said, "I'm human, so I feel good when people say I'm pretty. I looked up all those reactions. I searched when I woke up and searched before bed. Fans' reactions were there, but viewers' reactions were interesting. I liked the reactions that included profanity." She added, "Both the director and I had an external goal: this was our first office drama, and having played high school roles I wanted to remove that image. Now I feel like I've become an adult woman, so I think this is a success."
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