From Soo Joo Park to Sora Choi: how Korea’s top models are ruling the world’s fashion runways – in Chanel and Louis Vuitton

Nov 4 , 2020

Yoon Young Bae, HoYeon Jung and Sora Choi. Photo: @mulan_bae; @sola5532; @hoooooyeony/Instagram

It’s not just K-pop and K-drama series commanding a global audience, with South Korean models taking increasingly influential spots on the world’s fashion runways – as these 4 familiar faces prove

The worldwide surge in demand for K-beauty products is far from an isolated trend. Just look at the dramatic and sudden global success of K-pop, or the K-drama craze that Netflix has been so quick to capitalise on and, of course, the myriad of stunning Korean models joining fashion week catwalks all over the world. With their killer jawlines and bone structure, their milky ceramic-like skin and piercing eyes, why wouldn’t they conquer runways?

Soo Joo Park

Soo Joo Park is the Korean model to beat. She is the first Asian-American to serve as the face of L’Oréal, she made her first walk with Wes Gordon in 2012 and she has appeared at nearly 200 runway shows since. She also appeared as a character named Sutra in Netflix’s Sense8. On top of that, she has appeared a whopping 50 times on magazine covers, including editions of Harper’s Bazaar in Russia and India, The Sunday Times Style and Nylon Mexico. Though born and raised in Seoul, at the age of 10 her family moved to Anaheim, California. She was discovered by talent scouts while shopping in a vintage store in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Yoon Young Bae

Bae has amassed 247 runway walks since she started modelling in 2016 for Prada, and she is only 22 years old. She has graced the pages of Vogue three times – in the UK, South Korea and Japan – and is a Chanel Beauty favourite. Yet Bae’s Korean roots appear intact – she loves to eat spicy braised short ribs and to shop and hang out in Hongdae. She comes home to her adorable pet dog, Milk (which naturally has its own Instagram handle, @miilllkkkk_luv).

HoYeon Jung