2024 motivational calendar: 12 Korean celebs showing off their muscles for inspiration

2024 is almost upon us and it's again time to get down to some new year resolutions.

Whether you had a bit too much to eat over the festive season or you want to get into better fitness, we've got the workout eye candy role models for you.

Here're 12 Korean celebrities – one for each month – with ripped muscles to keep you motivated.

1. Ahn Bo-hyun

Ahn Bo-hyun posed as the surfer boy of our dreams in Bali.

"Goodbye summer," wrote the 35-year-old actor in the caption of his Instagram post.

In the photos, Bo-hyun can be seen clad in shorts and with a golden tan, posing with a surfboard on the beach.

Body goals, much?

2. Lee Soo-hyuk

His mission is to be tasty and he did that without effort.

That's what one netizen wrote after seeing his photos, and we have to agree.

Beating everyone to a year-end post, actor Lee Soo-hyuk, 35, left everyone with a set of workout photos and videos in September, captioning "2023".

After teasing us with shots of his bulging biceps, he finally shows off his washboard abs in the last photo.

3. Jang Eun-sil

Christmas is just around the corner but former Physical: 100 contestant Jang Eun-sil isn't slowing things down for the holidays just yet.

The 32-year-old, who left many viewers impressed with her strong sportsmanship in the Netflix series, posted a video of one of her 16-minute workout sessions in the UK consisting of six sets of "power snatch", nine burpees over a bar and 12 "toes to bar" where she takes pull-ups to the next level.

If this doesn't motivate you to workout, then what will?

4. BTS' Jungkook

BTS' Jungkook had fans hyperventilating after posting a TikTok video of himself dancing shirtless.

Wearing only a pair of jeans and a necklace and his tatted left arm on full display, the 26-year-old covered a choreography by dancer KNS to T-Pain's Church.

The video was filtered in black-and-white and one cheeky fan asked: "Can we get this in colour too?"

5. Kim Jong-kook

His YouTube channel is not called Gym Jong-kook for nothing. This Running Man star is showing us what ageing like fine wine looks like.

The 47-year-old gym enthusiast shared a shirtless black-and-white photo of himself, with a leather jacket loosely hanging off his shoulders.

Netizens remarked how he's looking better as time passes.

"Did he find the fountain of youth?" said one netizen.

Another joked: "People could do laundry like the old times on those abs."

6. Kim Ji-hun

Kim Ji-hun, 42, shared photos from the set of the Netflix movie Ballerina, where he took on the role of a drug dealer.

One of the photos was a shirtless mirror selfie of himself, his chest glistening with sweat.

One fan joked in the comments: "Saving these photos to show Santa what I want from him."

7. Lee Si-young

Of course we couldn't leave out actress and boxing queen Lee Si-young.

The 41-year-old, who made it to the South Korean women's national team in 2013 and won titles such as the National Amateur Boxing Championships in the same year, has been posting photos and videos of her ripped physique on Instagram.

In one of the posts, she shared clips of herself working out at the gym, doing exercises from pull-ups to lifting heavy weights.

If you've seen the Netflix monster series Sweet Home 2, you'd know her hard work definitely paid off.

8. Kim Jin-young (Dex)

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He went from being a UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) soldier to a rising TV personality, but it seems like former Single's Inferno 2 contestant Kim Jin-young (also known as Dex) is maintaining a perfect physique regardless.

Shutup and Squat, a fitness centre in Seoul, revealed how others could achieve the same body as the 28-year-old.

The Freezing Workout Routine consists of three sets of bench presses, chest presses, cable crossovers, barbell curls, push-ups and hanging leg raises.

If that already has you panting, they added that it ends with a 2km run.

No pain no gain, right?

9. Shim Eud-deum

If you want those toned hourglass proportions, popular fitness influencer Shim Eud-deum's got your back.

The 33-year-old former Physical: 100 contestant went on Instagram recently to show how she does the same lower body workouts at home versus in the gym.

At home, she replaces gym facilities and weights by using a resistance band.

So if you can't commit to a gym, you have no excuses now.

10. Lee Jae-yoon

You may remember him as the female lead's first love in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo.

Lee Jae-yoon, not to be mistaken for the K-pop idol of the same name, not only acts but actively participates in varying workouts.

From swimming to jiu jitsu and intense gym workouts, it seems like the 39-year-old Korean-Canadian is doing it all.

11. Song Kang

This idol actor has been making headlines and driving netizens crazy after multiple revealing scenes in two of his recent dramas.

Not long after going viral for his nude scene in Sweet Home 2, Song Kang, 29, grabbed attention once again for his shirtless scenes in My Demon where he showed off his washboards abs.

In a press conference for the former, he revealed how he worked out a lot to show off his back muscles.

"I'm usually the shy type – I'm an introvert – but after filming that scene… I feel less shy," he laughed.

12. Stray Kids' Felix

It may not have been intended to be the highlight of his performances, but it definitely was for fans of this K-pop idol.

Stray Kids' Felix set the stage on fire during the group's 5-Star Dome Tour Seoul Special concert in October after changing into a different top in front of the live audience.

Fans at the concert were quick to snap photos and videos of him shirtless with his abs out, posting them on social media platforms like X and TikTok.

One netizen in the comments of a TikTok video summed up how we felt: "Speechless."

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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