'I.O.I Discord Rumors' Cause of Pain for Kang Mi-na, Now a Full-Fledged Actress [★FULL Interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

• tvN Monday-Tuesday Drama 'Tomorrow I'll Go to Work!' Interview with Actor Kang Mi-na as Character Yoon No-a

She has fully ripened. Kang Mi-na has transformed into a more mature actress through 'Tomorrow I'll Go to Work!'.

Recently, Kang Mi-na shared various stories during the wrap-up interview for tvN's Monday-Tuesday drama 'Tomorrow I'll Go to Work!' (script by Kim Kyung-min, directed by Jo Eun-sol), held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Tomorrow I'll Go to Work!', which concluded last month on the 28th, is a work depicting a seven-year office worker suffering from daily monotony who meets a prickly workplace superior and regains excitement in both love and work.

In the drama, Kang Mi-na played Yoon No-a, a five-year office worker experiencing growing pains in love and work. Overcoming scars from a long-term relationship, she delivered a more mature performance by syncing romantic chemistry with Lee Jae-in (played by Won Gyu-bin), a younger man who moves forward straight ahead.

Kang Mi-na closely resembled her character Yoon No-a. She said, "I think we are about 90% similar. When I'm in love, I tend to give everything to the person I love. (Yoon) No-a probably got hurt because she didn't calculate anything when it came to love and gave a lot."

Kang Mi-na previously played a high school villain in the Netflix drama 'Gigolo'. Now, she has taken on the role of an office worker.

Having made a strong impression as a high school villain in her previous work, Netflix's 'Gigolo', she underwent a drastic physical transformation for this project. Kang Mi-na explained, "For this work, I had to shed my high school look and appear like an office worker. Because of that concern, I lost a lot of weight. I wanted to lose the appearance from 'Gigolo' and be seen as Yoon No-a herself, so I lost 13 kilograms to create a look suitable for an office drama."

She also specifically mentioned her weight-loss routine. She said, "While filming 'Tomorrow I'll Go to Work!', I continued to lose weight. I lost it within a range that wouldn't be too noticeable." She added, "I really dislike exercising, so on my days off, I thought about moving just one or two steps more and went for many walks. I also reduced sodium intake and made sandwiches my staple food. Once I started thinking about eating more vegetables, my weight dropped significantly."

She also shared her honest thoughts on the wave of praise for her appearance following her weight loss. Kang Mi-na said, "Since I'm human, it feels good to hear people say I'm pretty. I actively looked for such reactions. From the moment I woke up until I fell asleep, I searched for 'Kang Mi-na'." She continued with a smile, "While there were reactions from fans, the public's response was interesting. Reactions saying I was too pretty are what I remember most."

She stated that she felt no stress from her diet. Kang Mi-na said, "Since I've dieted so much, I've come to know my body well. After that, it didn't seem difficult to diet. My priority was understanding my body, so this time my diet goal was 'If it's hard, I won't do it.' If it got tough, I'd eat tteokbokki and adjust the next day. It wasn't as hard as I thought."

There was no way to leave out talk about her chemistry with Won Gyu-bin, who completed the sweet romance in the drama.

Kang Mi-na said, "Actor (Won) Gyu-bin was very nervous at first. So I wondered if meeting privately for a meal or coffee might help ease his tension, so we met socially and talked a lot. In reality, he is kind and considerate, and our chemistry was good." She expressed gratitude, saying, "When I came up with an idea, he responded well to it, which made me feel very good."

She also admitted that she felt excitement during actual filming. Kang Mi-na said, "Actually, I don't usually like younger men. I'm not the type who prefers them, but while filming, I found out that Actor Gyu-bin is kind and considerate, so I got excited during filming." She confessed, "In reality, I don't like characters with noticeable dyed hair, but a perm hairstyle suited him well. I actually like long wavy hair. I also like kind and considerate people in real life."

Kang Mi-na also honestly shared her concerns about the genre challenge. She said, "When filming 'Gigolo', I thought it was difficult to shoot a horror movie. But when switching to a romance drama, talking about love felt really hard. I thought it was difficult to act in a way that would resonate with many people. This work was difficult in its own way." She added, "Each genre has its advantages. Also, since I've been shooting romance dramas, I missed action. I wondered if I wouldn't fit better with action."

Kang Mi-na, who debuted through Mnet's 'Produce 101' in 2016 and was active with I.O.I and Gugudan, began her acting career in the 2017 drama 'Boys Over Flowers'.

Kang Mi-na honestly shared the reason she gradually solidified her position as an actress and focused on acting. She said, "I did both singing and acting during my singer days, but I thought acting was a more attractive part. I felt like I might not be able to do even one thing well if I tried to do both. So, I had a strong desire to focus on acting."

Kang Mi-na, who watched the recent 10th-anniversary reunion concert of I.O.I from the audience, also conveyed a special sense of emotion. She said, "My friends were really great on stage. I am one of their fans. I know their story better than anyone else because I've been watching them from the side, so I think that's why I got choked up." She expressed her affection.

Kang Mi-na also confessed about her inner feelings regarding the discord rumors that arose due to her non-participation in the I.O.I reunion. She said, "On one hand, I thought it was understandable. But for a while, I think I was quite upset." She revealed her honest feelings, saying, "Still, fans and members told me not to worry about such things, which gave me a lot of strength."

Reflecting on her journey as an actress, she said, "When I debuted with the work 'Boys Over Flowers', I felt very lacking. Even now, I feel very lacking, but because many people trusted me so much, I think I've grown steadily and come this far."

Kang Mi-na is becoming increasingly mature and ripened. She said, "I feel that I have grown as an actress because I tremble a little less in front of the camera now. I feel like I'm trying to exchange with my co-actors. In the early days of my debut, I was too nervous, confused, and scared of the set, so I acted quickly and abruptly, but now I think I have some room to sync better with my co-actors," revealing her solidified attitude.

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*This content was translated by AI.