81-year-old model’s top tip for ageing well? Don’t wait to chase your dreams, big or small

Choi Soon-hwa’s ‘impossible’ dream was to become a model. It led her to the fashion catwalk and this year’s Miss Universe beauty pageant

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Choi Soon-hwa, 81, during the 2024 Miss Universe Korea in Seoul, South Korea. Choi used to dream of becoming a model. She explains how she achieved her dream. Photo: AP

Published: 7:45am, 24 Nov 2024

At 81, Choi Soon-hwa has only recently started living the dream she nurtured since her youth, of strutting the catwalk as a fashion model.

On September 30, the South Korean went one step further, making history as the oldest contestant ever in Miss Universe, the international beauty pageant that started in the United States in 1952. This year it scrapped the upper age limit for contestants, opening the door to her participation.

On stage at the South Korean edition of the pageant in Seoul, Choi, her sleek white hair complementing her elegant beaded dress, exuded confidence as she stood alongside contestants young enough to be her granddaughters.

Ultimately, the pageant crown went to Han Ariel, a 22-year-old fashion school student, while Choi took the award for “best dresser”. She celebrated her win with her two children and three grandchildren.

She was all smiles and full of gratitude when the Post spoke to her in Seoul in early November, describing 2024 as “the best year of my life”.

Choi’s greatest tip for ageing well goes more than skin deep: she encourages people to pursue their dreams, big or small, no matter their age. This is what she did when she transitioned from carer at a hospital to modelling in her seventies.