Song Ga-in says daily housework, not gym, reshaped her body

South Korean singer Song Ga-in said weeks of intensive household organizing — not formal exercise — visibly changed her body shape and reduced puffiness, she revealed in a YouTube video, according to The Korea Times.

Calorie data cited by The Korea Times from South Korean health portal Kormedi.com shows sustained housework can burn 350 to 550 calories over two to three hours — rivaling structured exercise and challenging widespread assumptions about what counts as physical activity.

Song said in a recent video on her YouTube channel that she had been clearing out her home to prepare for a bazaar. "From the moment I woke up, I sorted things from 10 a.m. until midnight every day," she said, according to The Korea Times.

The sustained effort produced unexpected physical results. "I cleared out everything in the house," Song said, and described a specific change she noticed along the way: "The puffiness just melts away." She also expressed surprise at her own endurance, saying, "I'm honestly surprised I didn't get body aches."

The Korea Times, citing data from Kormedi.com, a South Korean health and medical portal, reported that light cleaning burns roughly 70 to 110 calories every 30 minutes. More demanding tasks — washing dishes or organizing a kitchen — can burn 100 to 140 calories in the same window, while sorting clothes or changing bedding may reach 130 to 180 calories per half hour.

Combining those activities amplifies the total. Kormedi.com data showed that performing multiple types of movement — lifting, carrying, stacking and rearranging items — burns more calories than repeating a single action. Two to three hours of continuous household work can accumulate a total of 350 to 550 calories, the portal reported.

Experts also noted that duration of activity may carry more weight than intensity when measuring total energy expenditure. A well-organized home environment, Kormedi.com added, can promote better circulation and help establish stable daily routines, including more balanced eating habits.

The Korea Times reported that health experts view household activity as a meaningful complement to — or even substitute for — conventional exercise when performed consistently over several hours.