Is That Kim Mi-kyung? After Losing 15 kg, She Looks Unrecognizable, Says She Was Left With Tens of Billions of Won in Debt and a Broken Body

[Sportschosun Reporter Park A-ram] Kim Mi-kyung, a star lecturer who drew attention after losing 15 kg and appearing noticeably different, candidly spoke about the changes that came with her weight loss, as well as the business crisis and emotional pain she experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kim Mi-kyung recently appeared on the YouTube channel "Lee Sung-mi's You Can't Go," where she recalled the period when her company was on the brink of collapse after all offline lectures were suspended.

She said, "For nearly a year, no income came into the company account," adding, "I even had to worry about paying employees' salaries, so I began looking into where the company could find a way forward."

After analyzing market changes, she shifted into online education, and the move brought far greater results than expected. She explained that the company grew rapidly and became large enough to attract major investment offers.

But after the pandemic ended, conditions changed again. As the investment market froze and demand for online education also declined, the company faced another severe management crisis.

Kim Mi-kyung confessed, "I kept thinking that I was too old to have taken on a new business for no reason," and "I kept blaming myself, and I came to understand firsthand what depression feels like."

She added, "The vice president cried and told me the company could collapse within months. We already had tens of billions of won in debt, and even paying employees' salaries was difficult," and "I tried to hold on until the end, but my body gave out first."

She also shared the moment she regrets most. She said, "I spent the entire weekend thinking only about how to save the company, but when I saw the employees walking in smiling as usual on Monday morning, my emotions collapsed all at once," and "I shouted, 'Would you only be satisfied if I died?' Then I sat down and cried. Even now, that scene stays with me."

Meanwhile, Kim Mi-kyung has also recently succeeded in improving her health. She said her blood pressure once exceeded 180 and she was diagnosed with severe fatty liver disease, signaling serious health problems. She then changed her lifestyle and lost 15 kg.

Kim Mi-kyung emphasized, "If the body moves first, the mind follows," and "As you get older, stamina becomes your greatest asset. More important than adding new things is giving up habits that damage your body."

tokkig@sportschosun.com