She's got the look
Kang Seung-hyun
Supermodel Kang Seung-hyun seeks to become Korea’s next transcendent TV personality
By Jung Min-ho
For many people, the image of high fashion conjures up nothing more than overpriced clothing. Supermodel Kang Seung-hyun objects to that image and defines fashion as ``a language that conveys people’s personalities and messages without saying a word.”
What’s interesting, however, is that her new job will test her verbal skills more than her ability to make patterns, prints and colors look good on the catwalk.
Kang, winner of the Ford Supermodel of the World 2008 competition and a regular designer for clothing brand Reborn Process, added "emcee’’ to her CV last month when she began hosting "Get It Style,’’ which offers the latest fashion trends and tips on cable channel On Style.
The 25-year-old, already one of the most recognizable faces in the local modeling industry, believes her show will help fashion down from its imaginary pedestal and make it more accessible to the general public.
She is also determined to prove herself as a television host and sees "Get It Style” as an important platform to become a more transcendent personality, the Korean answer to Tyra Banks so-to-speak.
“Many people here have the notion that fashion is something complicated and extravagant. I think it should be what they can play with. Teaching them how to play with fashion is what the show is about,” Kang said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
According to Kang, enjoying fashion means much more than wearing nice-looking clothes and carrying a swanky designer’s bag.
“People should know who they are because fashion is the way to express it. If what is expressed fails to reflect any part of them, it is not good styling. Therefore, fashion is subjective,’’ she said.
“One item that looks good on someone may look bad on others. In other words, there is no perfect formula that applies to everyone. Knowing one’s body shape might help more for styling than selecting pretty clothes.”
Kang started her fashion odyssey at an early age by reading magazines that her trend-savvy mom bought. Because she was already taller than most of her peers in high school at 1.78-meters, getting into the modeling department of Dongduk Women’s University felt a natural choice for her.
However, it was her colleagues who got their commercial breaks first, with some appearing in photo shoots for major magazines during their freshmen years. Kang said this shook her confidence, leaving her to ponder a different career.
Winning the Ford contest, and being the first Asian model to do so, changed her life overnight. In addition to the $250,000 prize, she landed a three-year contract with the influential American modeling agency. Kang said winning the Ford contest “was totally unexpected,” attributing her success to “simply enjoying the moment without any pressure to win.”
“Before I took off to New York for the competition, my mom gave me her credit card saying, ‘Have fun in the U.S., eat lots of good food,’” Kang said. “Apparently, she didn’t have any expectations, either.”
Kang’s English at that time was far from good. Because of that, she missed most of the questions during an interview in front of the company’s key officials a day before the contest.
“But I remember this. When someone asked me if I would be alright with working far away from home and a college I had yet to graduate from, I said my major was modeling. And before I finished my sentence, my answer got an explosive response. I guess they took it as my wit. And yes, the interview ended with a bang,” Kang said.
In fact, it was her college major. She said the staff probably did not know what she meant as a modeling major is extremely rare outside of Korea.
Surprisingly and yet, not so surprising, Kang was named the winner and immediately became a darling of the fashion world.
Kang stands out with a mixture of Eastern and Western characteristics. She has long limbs, categorized as a Western trait, and single-eyelid eyes.
She said she is “very blessed with a unique look.”
“Nothing remains long in this most trend-sensitive industry and a models’ looks are no exception,” Kang said. “I was lucky that I happened to have the trendy look the industry was looking for.”
Her passion goes beyond fashion and she refuses to be ordinary.
When many publishing companies asked her to write about her experience in New York, Kang turned them down. Instead, she directed an online TV show, “Hyoni TV.com,” to show a Korean audience New York “hot spots” from her viewpoint.
“I did not want to jump into something I was not confident in simply because others did it,” Kang said. “My project failed to draw much attention, but I do not think it was a failure because I gained much more than I lost through the experience.”
Modeling is what she loves the most, she said.
“I think modeling is the most attractive career a woman can get. But unfortunately, the opportunity is transient. Everything else I do is to stay longer in that career,” Kang said.
“I do not want to call what I have achieved a success because I believe that I am still in the process of getting there. I want to keep challenging for what I want without regard to other people’s opinion of who I am and what I can or can’t become.”