'It's never too late; find what makes your heart beat'

Model Min Zee-an / Courtesy of @Xackfotograf

Law student-turned-model dreaming to be on global stage

By Jung Da-min

Becoming a fashion model never seemed like a viable career option, says Min Ha-kyung, who has taken a break from law school and made it to third place at a famous model contest hosted by broadcaster SBS, the 2019 Supermodel Contest which aired on Nov. 18.

“My mother is a high school teacher and for her, it was natural to think that her daughter should get good grades at school and enter a prominent university,” said Min, who uses the name Min Zee-an professionally, during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Dec. 4.

“I think I had unconsciously excluded the option of becoming a model from my possible professions.”

Just like many other students, Min did not know what she really wanted to do after graduation. She ended up entering a law school as she was doing “okay” with studying at school and her parents were happy about it, she said, but it never made her feel as alive as modeling did.

To avoid regret, she went to numerous open casting calls at agencies in search of a modelling contract but seeing young competitors there made her feel that it might be “too late” for her to become a professional model.

At a 2014 modeling contest she participated in when she was 22 years old, the winner of the contest was 10 years younger than her. “That was when I felt it might be too late for me to join the modeling industry,” Min said.

But things have changed, Min said, with the development of online platforms such as YouTube and Instagram that have brought with them the concept of online influencers.

Min continued her efforts to engage in the industry, shooting and uploading photos and videos through her social network accounts, which later became her portfolio when her dream to join a professional modeling agency finally came true in July last year. Min signed a contract with YG KPLUS model agency in Seoul and has since been actively working as a model.

Her recent features include the stage for the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Fashion Week held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in late November last year.

Min said her case was extremely rare as the industry favors “young” models.

“Most of my colleague models at the agency are around 10 years younger than I am. Even after I got picked by the casting director of my agency, I was frequently asked about my age from the industry officials,” Min said.

“But listening to my own instinct I've made my way through as a professional model … I always told those who say I am 'too old' that I would make my own definition of what a model is.”

Min said she wanted to tell people, who feel frustrated and don't know what they really want to do, to keep asking themselves, as she did.

“There must be a thing that makes your heart beat, if you keep asking. When you find that thing, do not hesitate to jump to the challenge to do what you really want, as it's all about YOLO: You only live once!”