A South Korean man avoided the military draft by binge eating until he gained enough weight to qualify for a medical exemption due to obesity.
The 26-year-old, who now works behind a desk at a government agency, had his methods uncovered by officials and was handed a suspended sentence.
All South Korean men over 18 are required to serve at least 18 months in the military—a rule that has included footballer Son Heung-min and BTS member J-Hope.
However, the 26-year-old devised an unremarkably simple plan to avoid frontline national service, reminiscent of Homer Simpson’s weight-gain scheme to work from home.
According to Korean media, he had passed previous medical examinations and was set to enlist unless he failed a second test. Inspired by actors like Mark Wahlberg gaining weight for roles, he embarked on a mission to pack on as much weight as possible in a short time.
On his friend’s advice, he doubled his daily food intake and went even further by drinking large amounts of water before stepping on the scale. At 1.69m tall, his 102kg weight gave him a body mass index of 35.8, classifying him as heavily obese and moving him up two categories on South Korea’s medical metric compared to his previous exam.
The friend, who suggested the plan, was also sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for aiding and abetting. He claimed he thought his friend was joking.
The Seoul court heard that the man regretted his actions and pledged to serve his military time. He received a suspended sentence due to having no prior convictions.
Actors like Will Smith, Christian Bale and Wahlberg have also gained weight for roles in recent years, admitting the process is far less enjoyable than it might seem.
"I put on 30 pounds and went from being a guy who was in fighting shape to a guy who was wheelchair-bound, suffering from a rare muscular degenerative disease," Wahlberg said.
"It isn't something I would want to jump at doing again.”
