The actor’s candid confession became a lighthearted reminder of how much he and the beloved K-drama cast have changed over the past decade.
Park Bo Gum has revealed one unexpected difference between his Love in the Moonlight era and today: 11 kilograms.
During the September 16 premiere of KBS2’s anniversary special Love in the Moonlight: Redrawn, Park reunited with Kim Yoo-jung, Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin and Kwak Dong-yeon for an overnight trip to Hongcheon. The program brought the five actors back together ten years after the historical romance became one of the defining Korean dramas of 2016.
Their reunion included rafting, shared meals and candid conversations that offered viewers a glimpse of the friendship they maintained after the cameras stopped rolling.
One particularly memorable exchange began with something surprisingly ordinary: corn.
A Casual Conversation Led to Park Bo Gum’s Candid Confession
After rafting together, the cast returned to their accommodation to rest and eat corn. When Jinyoung reached for his third piece, the conversation unexpectedly shifted to weight.
Park asked how much he currently weighed and appeared genuinely surprised when Jinyoung answered 66 kilograms. Kim Yoo-jung commented on how slim he was, while Park praised him for maintaining his physique so carefully.
The question then turned back to Park.
“I was 65 kilograms during Love in the Moonlight,” he recalled, before estimating that he now weighed somewhere between 73 and 75 kilograms.
When Kwak Dong-yeon jokingly pointed out that the number kept increasing, Park finally admitted the full figure.
“Actually, I’m 76 kilograms,” he said, explaining that Jinyoung’s 66-kilogram answer had made him hesitate.
The confession drew laughter from the cast, but it also gave longtime viewers a vivid comparison between the young actor who played Crown Prince Lee Yeong in 2016 and the established star sitting beside his former castmates a decade later.
Why Park Bo Gum’s 65kg ‘Love in the Moonlight’ Era Remains So Memorable
Park’s weight during the original production is notable because his appearance as Lee Yeong remains one of the most recognizable images of his career.
Premiering in August 2016, Love in the Moonlight followed the romance between Crown Prince Lee Yeong and Hong Ra-on, a young woman who entered the royal palace disguised as a male eunuch. Park’s playful yet emotionally layered performance opposite Kim Yoo-jung helped transform the series into a major hit.
The drama reached a peak nationwide viewership rating of 23.3 percent, an exceptional result that inspired the phrase “Moonlight Syndrome” in Korea. It also elevated the profiles of its young ensemble cast, with Park emerging as one of the most prominent leading actors of his generation.
At the time, his slim 65-kilogram frame contributed to the youthful image of a crown prince caught between palace responsibilities, political conflict and first love.
Seeing Park at 76 kilograms today does not simply reveal that his body has changed. It visually marks the ten years that have passed since he first wore Lee Yeong’s royal robes.
Eleven Kilograms Over Ten Years Is Not an Overnight Transformation
Celebrity weight changes are often presented as dramatic transformations, but Park’s comments require some perspective.
The difference between 65 and 76 kilograms developed across approximately ten years, not several weeks or months. A number on a scale also cannot explain how much of that change comes from muscle, body composition, training or the natural physical development that occurs between a person’s twenties and thirties.
Park did not describe the change as a health concern or a source of insecurity. Instead, he spoke about it casually and laughed along with his castmates.
That distinction matters. The moment was compelling because of Park’s openness and the affectionate dynamic among the actors, not because one weight should be considered better than the other.
The familiar claim that he “still looks handsome despite gaining weight” also misses the more interesting point. Park’s appearance has matured alongside his career, allowing him to move beyond the delicate image associated with his early romantic roles.
Park Bo Gum’s Career Has Changed Along With His Appearance
In the decade since Love in the Moonlight, Park has taken on characters requiring noticeably different emotional and physical qualities.
He portrayed the quietly devoted Yang Gwan-sik in Netflix’s multigenerational drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, presenting a restrained and grounded performance far removed from Lee Yeong’s mischievous royal confidence. He later played Yoon Dong-joo, a former Olympic boxing champion who becomes a police officer, in JTBC’s action-comedy Good Boy.
These roles reflect a broader evolution in Park’s screen identity. The youthful crown prince who helped define his twenties has gradually given way to adult characters shaped by responsibility, endurance and physical strength.
There is no indication that his current weight was chosen for one particular role. However, his stronger build has become part of the more mature image audiences now associate with him.
The Reunion Was About More Than Park Bo Gum’s Weight
Park’s confession attracted attention, but the real appeal of Love in the Moonlight: Redrawn lies in seeing the cast together again.
Park Bo Gum, Kim Yoo-jung, Jinyoung, Chae Soo-bin and Kwak Dong-yeon were all relatively early in their careers when the original drama aired. Each has since developed a separate identity through television, film, music and variety programs.
Their reunion therefore carries more meaning than an ordinary promotional appearance. It allows the actors to revisit a production that changed their careers while meeting one another as different, more experienced people.
The KBS special follows the cast on a two-day trip and was scheduled across two episodes, airing on September 16 and September 23. Rather than presenting a formal retrospective, it uses travel, games and relaxed conversations to explore the relationships that survived beyond the drama.
Park’s 65-kilogram and 76-kilogram figures should not be treated as a comparison between a “better” past and present. They are timestamps separating two chapters of his life: the rising 23-year-old actor who captivated Korea as a crown prince and the 33-year-old star returning to that story with ten more years of experience.
The number changed, but so did everything around it. That is precisely what makes this reunion worth watching.