By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The midsummer heat was at its peak as 60 Korean beauties took to the stage for the 2007 Miss Korea Pageant. Among them, Lee Ji-seon, who entered the national beauty contest as Miss Seoul, was crowned Miss Korea at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts last Friday evening.
The graceful 24-year-old kept her composure as she received her glimmering crown, studded with 2,200 diamonds. Expressing thanks, Lee appeared determined to prove her competence as the new Miss Korea.
The aspiring fashion designer said she wishes to make positive use of her title to achieve her dreams, but for the meantime will focus on representing the country at the Miss Universe pageant next year.
Majoring in fashion design at the Parsons School of Design in New York, the beauty queen was also chosen as Most Photogenic while still in her junior year. During the contest, Lee garnered a great deal of attention, not only for her striking looks but also for her eloquent speech.
When asked to critique the recent Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following the first round of eliminations, Lee said she would ``give about 70 points (out of 100).
``Although the agreement is expected to heighten economic activities, policies protecting our citizens are necessary. We also need the wisdom to turn this crisis into an opportunity,'' she said, receiving much applause from the audience.
First runner-up was Jo Eun-ju (23, Yonsei University); second, Park Ga-won (21, Korean National University of Arts); third, Lee Jin (20, Yonsei University); and fourth, Yu Ji-eun (22, Kyonggi University). Kim Ju-hyeon (24, Soongsil University) was crowned Miss Korea-Osstem Implant, fifth runner-up, and Lee Jae-a (20, UC Irvine) was named Miss Korea-Hankook Ilbo, sixth runner-up.
Young women joined the contest from all over the world, including 14 domestic cities, the United States, Japan, China and the Oceania region. The contestants had been lodging together from July 2, in lead up to the pageant, and also participated in various events.
During the event, beauties celebrated the aesthetics of Korea as they strutted across the stage in exquisite hanbok (Korean traditional dress) and haute couture dresses by Korea's top designer Andre Kim. K-pop stars Tei and M also heated up the night with dynamic performances.
The annual beauty contest was held for the 51st time this year, and was organized by Hankook Ilbo and Sports Hankook, sister papers of The Korea Times, and was sponsored by The Korea Times, the Seoul Economic Daily, Hankooki.com and Kids Hankook.