Recent Posts
Culture May 4, 2017
The names and faces you should really know from Korea's Next Top Model...
Whether you watched Korea’s Next Top Model Cycle 1 or you didn’t even know there were Korea’s Next Top Model winners, it’s impossible to deny the appeal of the show. Sure, America’s Next Top Model has Tyra Banks. However, Korea’s Next Top Model has enough talented contestants and surprising photo shoots to holds its own.
So who are some of the best contestants in the five seasons of Korea’s Next Top Model? Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite women (and men!) from Korea’s Next Top Model!
Fans of Korea’s Next Top Model probably know Sora Choi as season three’s winner. To everyone else, though, Choi is just one bad ass model! Since her win, she’s walked in 50 fashion shows…in a single fashion week season.
In 2016, she also appeared in shows by top names like Prada, Saint Laurent, and Dolce & Gabbana. Still not impressed? She’s already appeared in multiple “Vogue” editions.
The fifth cycle of Korea’s Next Top Model was themed “Girls vs. Guys.” So we’d be remiss to not mention one of our favorite male models from KNTM! One fan describes Lee Chul Woo as a hybrid of various Korean pop stars, including “SHINee’s Key, FT Island’s Lee Hong Ki, and EXO’s Kai.” You may not know what those celebrities look like, but just know this: Woo hits all the right notes in terms of sex appeal.
Woo is also more than a pretty face. Although he didn’t win Korea’s Next Top Model, as of 2015, Woo acts A co-host of the fashion and lifestyle show, “Heart_a_tag.” His fellow host? Pop artist Tiffany. In a 2016 photoshoot, Woo explained why the pair gets along so well. “There are certainly advantages to us being polar opposites. Thanks to these differences, I can now view the world in a whole new perspective.” Talk about a mindset as attractive as his looks.
Another Korea’s Next Top Model winner is Jung Sun Jin from season two. Even though she’s likely a future international model, Jin is comfortingly relatable. In an interview with Vogue, Jin admitted that she’s a homebody who likes hiking through the forest and watching mokbang (or live-streams of people enjoying elaborate feasts).
The real reason we’ve fallen in love with Jin, though, is her motivation for being an international model. “To me, it doesn’t matter if I’m going to do great or even good overseas,” Jin says about her upcoming castings in New York. “I want to challenge myself—I think this is a turning point for me.”
You might remember that, in season 11 of America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks made history by casting the first trans contestant, Isis King. Transgender model Choi Han-bit made similar waves in cycle three of Korea’s Next Top Model. She underwent gender-reassignment surgery back in 2006 and chose a new name, “Choi,” which means “ray of sunshine.”
In previous interviews, she’s proven to be a powerful advocate for the LGBT community. “I have found many sexual minorities who distanced themselves from society to avoid public exposure,” Han-bit says. “I would like to advise them not to hide and [to] come out. With a fear of public attention, it’s all but impossible to change people’s attitude toward us.” An impressive stance? We think so!
Jung didn’t win Korea’s Next Top Model cycle four; instead, she was the runner-up. Jung didn’t let that loss affect her career. Her greatest talent is connecting with fans, whether through her successful Instagram or her daring street style. According to Jung, “These days, it’s not enough for models to just do shows and photo shoots. [Y]ou have to be making videos and finding ways to create other content.”
Jung is also rising in popularity on the fashion runway and in magazines. In 2015, she was deemed the Rookie Model of the Year by the Korean Fashion Photographers Association. One year later, she made her American debut – and she’s walked exclusively for Louis Vuitton since then. You may have even seen her on covers like “Love” and “Vogue Japan.” Talk about turning a second-place finish into a major career win!
Korea’s Next Top Model might not be hosted by Tyra Banks, but its contestants are still beyond impressive. Whether you’re looking for an LGBT role model, the new man of your dreams or just some fashion inspiration, these five contestants from Korea’s Next Top Model can give you major #goals!
