In the past and now, the thing that stayed by Hwang Jung-eum's side during the toughest times in her life was 'High Kick.' Through this work, which brought Hwang Jung-eum a second heyday, she drew strength from the actors she met through 'High Kick' even during a period when she suffered mentally due to divorce and embezzlement controversies.
On the 9th, Hwang Jung-eum released a video on her YouTube channel meeting Julien Kang to learn exercise, doing a cup ramen mukbang and sharing various stories.
After her divorce, Hwang Jung-eum, who is raising her two sons alone, said she wanted to lift sagging buttocks, straighten a hunched back, trim hidden belly fat and get rid of bothersome upper arm fat. But when told that removing fat from just one spot is difficult and she must reduce overall, she insisted on undergoing a procedure, saying, "If you do it overall, won't areas that you don't want to lose also be reduced?"
Unlike her 20s during the 'High Kick' days, Hwang Jung-eum said her stamina has declined and blamed the passage of time. Remembering the past, Julien Kang asked, "(When you were filming 'High Kick') why were you so cheerful?" and Hwang Jung-eum said, "Back then I had 500 won in my bank account, but after appearing in 'High Kick' tens of billions (came in)."
At the time of her heyday, Hwang Jung-eum recalled, "I remember once during 'High Kick' filming I went to shoot an advertisement for seafood ramen," and she laughed, "That ad work would come in overnight. Every day felt like a blessing and I was grateful. Thinking about those times still makes me feel good."
Although she was at the peak of her career, she later faced severe criticism after getting embroiled in divorce and an embezzlement controversy involving 4.3 billion won. Hwang Jung-eum, who married a former professional golfer turned businessman in 2016 and had two sons, divorced last year. After the divorce, she reportedly took out an 800 million won loan in the company's name, transferred about 700 million won to her personal account under the name of "temporary payment" and invested it in cryptocurrency, and until October of the same year moved and invested about 4.2 billion won in total in the same manner over 13 transfers. It also emerged that she spent several million won of company funds on personal costs such as property tax, local government tax, card bills and stock collateral loan interest.
During the trial, Hwang Jung-eum, who admitted all charges, was sentenced to two years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence and spent about a year in self-reflection. During that period, what supported her was the bonds from 'High Kick.' Looking at Julien Kang, Hwang Jung-eum said, "When I was going through a hard time, I was invited and went to Julien Kang's house. I even took the kids; he exercised my sons and I was very grateful." Julien Kang said, "Hwang Jung-eum is a friend. I invited her because I was worried and didn't know how she was feeling." Hwang Jung-eum said, "Shooting the same work seems to have created camaraderie. Whether we see each other after five years or 10 years, it's never awkward and always a pleasure to meet."
Supporting Hwang Jung-eum along with Julien Kang was Jung Bo-seog. Jung Bo-seog reportedly said he would accompany Hwang Jung-eum to pay respects when the late Lee Soon-je passed away because he thought she might feel burdened, and Julien Kang is known to have shielded Hwang Jung-eum from reporters' cameras.
After her activities with Sugar, it was 'High Kick' that lifted Hwang Jung-eum up, and it was the 'High Kick' connections that supported her when she struggled with divorce and embezzlement controversies. Hwang Jung-eum and 'High Kick' have been inseparable in this way.
Photo = OSEN DB, YouTube video capture
[OSEN]