My Final Week Modelling in Seoul
- May 9
- 7 min read
Updated: May 10
If you’re reading this then somehow 10 weeks have passed and I’m currently on the flight home from Seoul! I'm not thrilled for the journey but I am giddy and unexplainably excited to be reunited with my family.
But before I am reunited let me debrief what occurred during my last week modelling in Seoul -->
The week began with 7 hours of E-commerce on a Saturday, and to make things worse I’d just said goodbye to Parker who decided to leave her contract early to head home to Canada. So I was a bit solemn but the e-comm really added to that.
Parker is such a lively character and one of the funniest people I’ve ever met so I’m sad to see her go, but thankfully me and Aoife aren’t left here without her for too long.
The job itself was a rare two-parter which continued on Wednesday. One day for e-comm and one for campaign shots. So the website is going to be a whole load of me.
Thankfully Saturday's e-comm portion was pretty speedy and the team were lovely - but they did put a Laneige Lip Mask in my hair to attempt to flatten it down? So they lost brownie points for that as it took forever to wash out!
After thoroughly de-sticking my hair me and Aoife headed out to the cutest cocktail bar/ restaurant in our local area which had the cutest waiter ever - I’ll miss all the beautiful Korean men for sure. Then we were gluttonous and ordered an entire Baskin Robbins Ice-cream cake - which had to be immediately consumed as it didn’t fit in the freezer (poor planning on our part!)
Sunday I had the world's longest job, it’s as if they knew it was my last full-day shoot because it ended up lasting 12 hours and being excruciationally cold, wet, and tiring. The brand and team themselves were sweet but there were 43 looks and by 1pm we had only done 9 looks… the pace was snail like.
I did however learn something embarrassing about myself from the shoot. I visibly blush when I listen to Justin Bieber. So the Bieber fever is clearly still alive and well.
They heard me listening to a song of his through my broken wired headphones and ended up playing JB on loop for 6 hours once the makeup artist and her minion realised I blush as they then turned this into a game of which song would make me blush the most.
Love to be humiliated at work. Although it did keep me going because the K-Pop beforehand was getting a bit repetitive. Especially towards the end because the 43 looks turned into 47!
Monday was a necessary day of unemployment, especially as I needed to begin packing desperately. Which I did slightly (half of one suitcase) before getting too overwhelmed and heading out to Seong-su to try and find a backpack to be able to hike Bukhansan - which I secured successfully! As well as a few more unnecessary bits that I let myself splurge on purely because it’s my last week.
Then came the day of all days. Tuesday… I hiked up Bukhansan, and couldn’t feel my legs for 2 days afterwards!
It was on my to-do list the entirety of my trip but suddenly it got to my final week so it was either Tuesday or never. Naturally, I chose the longest, highest trail of the bunch because… why not suffer properly?
So alarm set for 5:30am, I made my way across the city and arrived at the base around 7:30am, immediately investing in hiking gloves which saved my entire existence - genuinely may not be here without them as I almost slipped many times.
On the way up I was conned into thinking I’d begun the hike when I was in fact walking to the entrance, so after twenty minutes I did reach the fork between the ‘Easy’ and ‘Difficult’ trails to Baegundae Peak.
I chose the “easy” route (best decision) and the first couple of km it was stairs, temples, Buddha statues, very serene. Then suddenly my legs started burning, my face became a tomato, and I accepted my fate.
Somewhere along the way up I was quietly adopted by a Korean couple who kept waiting for me in a non-obvious way as I was flying solo and I think they were concerned. Unfortunately I lost them as I was stopping every 3 seconds to take photos because the views were genuinely unreal.
Then came the final stretch towards the top after what felt never ending. Full rock scrambling, wire ropes, and a near-vertical human traffic jam that felt very much like it could be a 2006-2026 situation - thankfully I'm here to tell the tale.
However, after a risky bit of climbing I reached the top of Baegundae Peak, the highest point in Seoul, and the view was as ridiculous as you’d imagine.
Nothing but mountains for the eye to see, and Seoul very distantly in the background. I sat, journaled, avoided the outrageous flag queue, and had a very “life is very big and I am very small” moment before reluctantly descending.
For balance, I tried the “difficult” route down so I could compare the two trails and it was easier than expected, but my legs had fully checked out by then so I was still shaking like crazy.
If you’re going, here’s a few helpful tips:
Bring more water than you think you need
Use the toilets at the information centre - last civilized stop
No plastic containers (wind = your lunch becomes pollution)
MUST wear proper trainers or hiking shoes
The humidity is not your friend - dress appropriately!
Go early on weekends/holidays unless you enjoy queues on cliffs with trembling legs
Wednesday my legs felt like jelly but it was time for the campaign portion of Saturday's job so after a trek to the studio through the beautiful countryside I got to work. Executing what I'd studied from the moodboard... but they didn't seem to like me as much.
Nothing I seemed to do was pleasing anyone and my translator was borderline incompetent for the day so mixed signals were being fired everywhere. Thankfully we persevered and finished on time before another 1 ½ hour drive home.
Once home me and Aoife had to film an exciting self tape for a super cool project and then we devoured a large chunk of ice-cream cake and crashed out.
Thursday was bittersweet as it was my final shoot in Seoul! For a large brand called Marithe Francois Girbaud but specifically for their Korean website and Korea storefronts - which is annoying as I won’t be here when the store fronts get decorated with my face.
We shot at such a rogue time due to studio logistics so I had the morning to pack and the worked from 4-8pm. It was just e-comm so it wasn’t super fun but it was a very chilled way to end my shoots here in Seoul.
Jessica (translator) even behaved herself today and translated which was a real treat so all around a brilliant way to leave things. The taxi ride home had me feeling all nostalgic just thinking about how scarily fast these past 10 weeks have gone and how much I'll miss Seoul!
Once I got back I had to really do some packing and it was then that I realised I in fact do have too much stuff so I’ve had to expand into Aoife’s suitcases as well. Which is ridiculous because how much stuff could I possibly have?
Friday was my final day in Seoul so I was feeling understandably bittersweet but I had a really wonderful day to say goodbye to the city. I spent more money than I thought in Olive Young picking up my fave skincare bits.
Then headed straight to 45ID - a photography studio near the apartment which shoots polaroid photos to "capture the youngest you that will ever exist" so I now have a very sweet memory of my last day in Seoul as well as me in my last week of teen-hood! (I'm going to cry)
And then we had the MOST emotional evening ever. Everytime me and Aoife even glanced at eachother we began to tear up. We were generously taken for Korean BBQ with all the agency team and it ended up not only being insanely good but also insanely fun!
Only took 10 weeks but they finally showed their funny side tonight. We even celebrated my birthday early which was beyond unexpected and had me on the verge of tears, it was so special. But even worse was after this yummy cake we had to say goodbye and me and Aoife lost it, we just started to cry. (all of us below)
Before graciously turning away and pacing it to Banpo Bridge to see the light show - which we missed but still enjoyed overlooking Seoul over the Han River one last time. I'm on the verge of tears just thinking about it.
As I write this it is 1am Saturday 9th May and we are hanging around waiting for the taxi after I just rejigged the suitcases 15 times due to severe overpacking issues. Now I am waiting for my 15 hours of Gossip Girl to download while I reflect on Seoul a little bit below...
Seoul wasn’t entirely what I expected, but then again I don’t know what I did expect. It was difficult in some ways, ecstasy inducing at some stages and all around fun for the majority. I’m sad to be leaving but I’ve made a lot of friends and I'm sure I’ll be back at some point or another.
It’s been an absolute blast reporting on all the goings on and this unique side of the modelling industry that doesn’t often get talked about, and for anyone who has been loyally reading along these past 10 weeks I’m very grateful and hope it’s been somewhat entertaining to hear of my utmost failures, my occasional successes and the hilarity in between.
Now please pray for me as while you may be leisurely reading this I’m trapped in a metal tube gliding through the sky - with an intense fear of flying. Pray for Aoife, maybe more so!
With love (from Seoul),
Mimi x
SUBSTACK: @mimipiqua
IG: @itswithlovemimi
TIKTOK: @mimipiqua
Comments