“The Way Home” by Lee Semina, second runner-up of the 2011 Miss Korea competition, captures men walking back home on Annapurna. The photo is being exhibited at the Convention Center of the Grand Hilton, Seoul, July 4-8 to mark the 56th anniversary of the pageant and to remember the late Park Young-seok, a Korean mountaineer who went missing on Annapurna last October. / Courtesy of the artist

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lee Semina, the second runner-up in the 2011 Miss Korea beauty pageant is holding a photography exhibition at the Convention Center of Grand Hilton Seoul from Wednesday to commemorate the event and encourage this year’s contestants.

Lee Sang-seok, president of The Hankook Ilbo and the candidates of the 2012 Miss Korea will attend the opening.

The exhibit features 29 photographic works to celebrate the holding of the 56th Miss Korea competition, the largest beauty pageant in Korea. She also aims to honor the memory of the late Park Young-Seok, a Korean mountaineer who went missing on Annapurna last October — most of the photos were taken during her trek to the mountain.

Major works in the exhibition include “Today,” “Thank You,” “Man of the Mountain” and “The Way Home.” “Today” features religious artifact which people use in Nepal to hope for safe day whereas
The Way Home” was taken while climbing down from the Annapurna base camp.

Lee is a student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), studying physics. She won Miss Gyeonggi, a regional preliminary to the Miss Korea, contest last year. After becoming one of the runner-ups in Miss Korea, she has participated in volunteer work.

The 2012 Miss Korea finals will be held at the Grand Auditorium of Kyung Hee University, Friday.