Catharina Lee of Washington D.C. was one of the ten girls competing to become a Victoria Secret runway model, but she was eliminated from the Victoria’s Secret Boot Camp competition because she was nervous and couldn’t nail the sitting down pose.  She was seen on Tuesday night on CBS as they showed the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which interlaced scenes from the Boot Camp competition.  It was pretty cool that a first generation Korean-American girl competed in such a high profile event.  What’s with Koreans modeling lately?  There’s been a couple of Korean-American contestants on America’s Next Top Model and now Victoria’s Secret.

Catharina is a first generation Korean-American who was raised in a very traditional Korean home in Washington, D.C. Her strict upbringing brought out her “bad girl” when she was younger, but at 20, she’s moved past her rebellious ways and is focusing on her future. She’s currently studying Communications at George Mason University. These days, the 5-foot-9-inch former-rebel would rather act out on the runway. According to Catharina, she can easily beat out her competition. Will the other aspiring Angels prove her wrong?

Victoria’s Secret held open casting events in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago to give the country’s most beautiful women a chance to be the next Victoria’s Secret Runway Angel. Starting with 10 finalists staying in The District, a luxury condo building in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district, the girls are competing in a series of challenges to prove their abilities as a spokesmodel and show off their red carpet star quality while walking a runway in lingerie.

Jennifer An was one of the first contestants to be under 5′7″ on America’s Next Top Model and she almost won it by outlasting almost everyone in the competition until this past week when she was finally eliminated.  Damn!  The girl from Philly who stands a tall 5′5″ got great reviews throughout the competition and she also happened to be the oldest contestant (23 yo).  A couple years back, she wrote to Tyra Banks, asking her to allow girls under 5′7″ to be considered for the show and Jennifer An became the first to do so and she almost won it!  We wish her the best as she pursues her career in New York City.

You can see an interview she did with her hometown (Philly) TV network.

It’s been a pretty good month for Koreans on magazines.  First it was Grace Park in a sexy cover of Maxim magazine and then it was golfer Y.E. Yang on the cover of Golf Digest.  Now we see Korean runway model Daul Kim gracing the cover of Russh Australia.  If you’ve ever read her blog, you’ll find her to be a unique girl. Here’s a quick dive into her thoughts from a recent post on her blog. Otherwise, check out the photos from her spread in Russh Australia.

last year
i was so lost
but that night was beautiful
i was living in london, and i had a punk boy in my life
and it was such a relief to run away to
new york city
i had no time to buy costume, so i just wore my old dolce&gabanna from the 90s
ironically the one the punk boy gave to me …
i felt so…free and kind of excited
i was with my best friend p, and it was beautiful and strange night
we ended up in the most strangest place, most awkward moment
so newyork.
i think this year i will remember today as the day i slept 10 hours without
any help of anything or anyone without any dreams and woke up feeling peaceful and happy.
no more running away from something or someone or myself.
i wonder what will happen tonight

South Korean actress and former model Jang Jin Young died of stomach cancer today.  She was diagnosed nearly a year ago during her regular health check up, but what she thought had been an ulcer was diagnosed as stomach cancer.  She had been in the United States (Los Angeles) for cancer treatments, but recently returned home to South Korea for her final days when it was concluded that her health was deteriorating even with the treatments she was being administered.  In her final days, she spent time with loved ones.  She was only 35.

“Actress Jang Jin-young passed away today at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital at Catholic University of Korea. Even after she was diagnosed with cancer, she was always positive and tried to pay back the love and support her fans sent her. We will remember her passion toward films and we hope she stays in our hearts forever,” Jang’s agency, Yedang Entertainment, said through a press release.

After winning the Miss South Chungcheong Province beauty pageant in 1992, Jang started her career as a model. She made her first appearance as an actress in 1997 in the television miniseries “The Angel in Me” (KBS). She continued to appear regularly on television before making her big screen debut in the 1999 horror film “Jaguimo” starring Kim Hee-seon. Her first big hit was the movie “The Foul King” in 2000, and from then the actress was seen in numerous films such as “The Siren” (2000), “Sorum” (2001), “Over the Rainbow” (2002), “The Scent of Love” (2003) and “Singles” (2003).

In the horror film “Sorum,” Jang played a mysterious wife with a secret and won the Best Actress Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. The hit movie “Singles,” where she played the quirky character Na-nan, also got her the same recognition at the 2003 awards. Her character in “Singles” was a big hit among young women, with many changing their hairstyles to the short and curly hairdo the actress wore in the film.

“The Scent of Love” was also one of her best known works, where Jang played a patient diagnosed with stomach cancer.

In 2006, Jang joined fellow actor Kim Seung-woo for the movie “Between Love and Hate” and won the Best Actress Award at the Korean Film Awards.

The actress returned to the television screen in 2007 in the drama “Lobbyist” with fellow actor Song Il-guk. She was diagnosed right after the drama finished.

Along with numerous films, the actress also appeared in various commercials ranging from cosmetics to electronic goods.

A ceremonial funeral hall will be set up at the ASAN Medical Center in southern Seoul.

Source: The Korea Times

Hyoni Kang is the latest of Korean models to grace the catwalk and she’s here in New York for Fashion Week.  Who is Hyoni Kang?  For starters, she was named top ten models to watch for during Fashion Week according to New York magazine. She follows in the footsteps of fellow South Koreans Daul Kim, Hye Park, and Han Jin to strut during Fashion Week.

Hyoni Kang earned major preseason buzz when she won the Ford Supermodel of the World contest in mid-January. She then blew into New York Fashion Week walking in ten shows, including Marc by Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, and United Bamboo. And she’s already shot upcoming editorials for Interview, Korean Vogue, and Flaunt magazine.

Jarah Mariano is in the exclusive 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  She’s a true multiracial person, being of Korean, Chinese and Hawaiian descent.  She made a name for herself when she hit the pages of Victoria’s Secret a couple years ago and made the cover of Complex magazine.

She’s a protegee of Tyra Banks and a favorite on the runways by many designers.  She’s the next real top model who’s making a big splash: her name is Chanel Iman Robinson.   She was born to a mother of Korean and African-American heritage and a black father.  She’s pure beauty with a Paul Bunyan appetite and a 23″ waist.  And only freaks of nature can be a size 2 at 5′ 10″.   Page Six does a lovely profile of Chanel.  Read>