Kim Soo-min (beauty pageant winner)

Kim Soo Min spontaneously applied to the Miss Korea Pageant the last semester of her senior year. After deciding to move back to Korea and start her career, she began searching for jobs associated with the news media. During the process, she saw a Miss Korea pageant flyer online and ended up visiting the Miss Korea website and submitting her resume.[5]

During interviews and talkshows, Kim Soo Min has discussed controversial issues with Korea's beauty standards and body-shaming culture. She noted that Korean beauty culture has influenced many to believe that any woman, regardless of her height, is overweight when she goes over 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Kim also stated her opinion on how social media perpetuates these standards, stating: “I personally feel like it’s from immensely photo-edited images that we see on our social media,” Kim explained. “We see celebrities showing off their weight, they say ‘I weigh this much’ and they look very pretty. We subconsciously start to think this is the ideal weight and the ideal body. I see a lot of girls who put a lot of effort into losing weight even though they don't have to.”

“I wish me being on stage and onscreen can make young girls think that they’re not fat at all weighing this weight,” Kim shared. “I wish it could also motivate other young girls to be confident in their bodies and accept the way they look. I want to set that healthy standard on stage for better body confidence.” [6]