Modelling in Seoul: Week 3

The one thing I hate about placements is how little you get to know about your own life. For example, this is week 3 in Seoul and I only narrowly know what I’m doing up until lunch time… brilliant for a person who thrives under structure and organisation. 

Our schedules are consistently getting changed which means the maximum notice we get is 12 hours - which makes it quite difficult to plan what your next move is because of how crazily fast everything can change! 

The weeks are filled with 5 days of castings (unless we are booked for a shoot). Now 5 days of castings of course means a whole lot of driving - and bad driving at that. Our agent Chloe is quite a menace on the roads, having nearly killed us all three times. I'm really clinging on in the backseat every day. 

Castings: 

This Monday dear Chloe took us to 6 castings and the second casting of the day was a surprise swimwear casting! These swimming costumes were SO extortionately tight that they were difficult to get on for me and Parker (who has THE most tinsy-tiny waist I've ever encountered) I mean if it isn’t fitting us, who is it fitting? 

I had to jump to get it over my bum so Beyoncé I really do feel your pain now. I’m with you sis. But seriously, the designer was a man and this size ‘small’ was remarkably similar to that of a toddlers body shape - just saying. 

The rest of the day was SO tame, other than the fact I had straightened my hair over the weekend and the agents saw it on Monday and made a request for me to have it straight for every casting moving forward… After being told my natural curls are lovely and so beautiful for weeks! Oh! 

I of course haven’t listened to this straight hair praise and showed up to the first casting of Tuesday with a very voluminous abundance of waves on display. And what do you know… the client was obsessed with my hair - so I’m hoping Chloe is rethinking her comments.

I also managed to have a 1-1 chat with the usually ominous head agent this week and she’s actually very chill, we spoke about her family and then I of course jumped the gun and asked her all kinds of questions about my work schedule and working as a duo with Aoife - to which she told me we already have several shoots lined up together! 

After that ego boost, I treated myself to my first walk along the Han River which was incredibly beautiful and also totally bipolar with the weather. I layered up in a jumper and a coat and on the way back I was left in only a t-shirt. Thank god it’s heating up though because for a few weeks it was Baltic. 

During this walk I ended up calling bestie Aoife for 2 hours - I meant to read a book but that quickly went out the window. She arrived this week and the reunion was everything and more! 

The IG is about to be popping. Imagine being paid to have a two month sleepover, and play dress up with your best friend, not only do you get to wear cool clothes and laugh nonstop, you also get a free batch of professional pictures together. So jazzed about that.

… THE BIG MOMENT 

The much anticipated day arrived.. I picked up bestie from the bus and we ecstatically jumped up and down for about five minutes. 

Although she’s been to Seoul before, it was surreal to see her here because I've acclimatised myself to this new way of life and it’s so strange to see someone from home in this new place!

Introductions and unpacking over and done with we went out to dinner to debrief as soon as possible and it did not disappoint! We ordered THE most garlic-y pasta known to man, genuinely if a vampire walked within the continent of Asia they would’ve died immediately. 

To have her here is so weird but more amazing than anything else. I had an intense moment of gratitude this morning when I woke up, realised she was above me (bunk beds), and then realised we are quite literally being paid to hang out and live together for 8 weeks! HOW INSANE IS THAT?!?!?! 

I never expected to model, nor did I think I would be afforded these insane experiences with it so to have made this friendship through modelling and to now be in Seoul together three years later - is genuinely ridiculous. It’s incomprehensible to me, but I am beyond grateful nonetheless. 

The rest of the week was spent watching previous job images release across instagram pages and websites as well as frolicking around in the casting car to a multitude more castings.

None of which had anything interesting to report other than the fact Aoife and me kept making eye contact with each other and having to quickly lock in. The entire thing has now become a try-not-to-laugh challenge!

Another point - I haven’t worked any jobs this week. Which usually I would question but I actually feel quite calm. Work fluctuates for models and you can go one week from making a few thousand or even more to the next week making absolutely nothing!

This week is one of the latter for me unfortunately but it’s picking up yet again and is entirely dependent on the client's vision and how the castings have gone! 

First night out in Seoul !!

So… we went out last night (Friday) and boy is there a lot to tell. First of all every single person in the entire vicinity of South Korea seems to be bisexual, and crazily sexually driven. Why was every single person making out with each other? The fact I don’t drink obviously made me more aware of this but I’ve been to clubs before and I’ve never seen so much within a small space of time - praying no one contracts an STD because it’s highly likely. 

The night started in a little bar, where a bucket of Long Island something or other was shared. It was an interesting set up, there was a dance floor filled with some 5’2 American cowboys, who later we got into a political debate with as one of them claimed he was, “Proud to be a racist” - I ACTUALLY CHOKED ON MY SALIVA. Why on earth would you admit to be a racist, and second of all, why would you ever be proud of it. Trump supporters make me want to die. 

Thankfully, we moved onto the next location of the night and located some of the models from other agencies, however immediately I missed Japan because why was every single model there not serving model - everyone was your average Joe - I hope that’s not how some people view me.

Our Big Itaewon night out!

We ended up at this place called Danco in Itaewon which is supposedly notoriously known to bring in models … and a time was had. You just have to say, “I’m a model” and they bring you straight in and give you bottles upon bottles of free drinks. We danced for hours and made friends with a big group of Korean gals who were SO fun! 

Everything was very demure until I looked at the tables and all the bottles were suddenly empty! I won’t detail the happenings of others around me because that’s not mine to tell, but let’s just say it got provocative. 

After a few hours every other model in Seoul decided to come in as well - and the selection of male models was severely disappointing - such a shame. The thing that really sent us home was the fact that this larger group of models randomly didn’t like that we were there (even though we were there first!) so they told the security we had stolen from them and to kick us out!! WILD ACCUSATIONS. 

me and my girls

So we voluntarily left because by this point everyone was properly white girl wasted, and I was rounding up the troops into a taxi. A taxi which then scammed us because as previously discussed, white people are very much racially prejudiced against. 

When in Seoul I guess… 

This week was both amazing and quite emotionally taxing, however I am beyond happy to be with Aoife and the entire apartment is very much more bonded after last night. I honestly love our little roommate relationship. It’s such a wholesome and unique experience to be a model on placement and no one else within your everyday life can relate to the experiences because for the most part they are absurdly niche - so you bond in an incomparable way. 

Manifesting a booked and busy coming week and of course you’ll be the first to hear about it.  - follow along on socials because of course the IG eats first! 

IG: @itswithlovemimi

TikTok: @mimipiqua 

With love, 

Mimi x