Modelling in Seoul: Week 1!! (I'm scared)

So as I’m FINALLY sitting down to write this I have now been in Korea for ten days - which is crazy because where has that time gone! I’ll be here for seventy-five days, and aim to document the entire extravaganza for you! 

Korean era is slaying so far

However, do not fret. I will be sharing the details of my experience thus far - dirty details and all - right from the start.

Which leads me to my first point perfectly…

Packing & Travel. 

I spent an exceptionally unnecessary amount of time packing, ‘perfecting’ what to bring, which of course ended up being a procrastination technique to avoid processing that I was leaving home for such a long period of time once again.

Eventually I decided to just trust I had everything I would need - spoiler alert I obviously did, and when my long awaited departure time came I predictably had a full on panic attack, and ended up looking so distraught at airport security I was drug tested, searched, and questioned.

You’d think I was being sent off to war. However the experience of saying goodbye for a long time is truly soul crushing so it’s a semi-valid reaction.

I really pulled it together once I was through security and managed to settle in for the 13 hour flight. How on earth is that even legal? My legs felt like rocks by the time we landed and my eyes felt as if I’d been punched fourteen times over per eye from the amount of tears that had poured out of them.

the flight had me feeling an overwhelming sense of sonder.

But I was thirteen hours deep and felt somewhat optimistic about what Seoul may offer, so I hastily acquired a taxi and headed to the model apartment - also a new experience for me as I had my own solo apartment in Tokyo.

Meeting Roomies!!!

My first experience with a model apartment did not disappoint. It lived up to the stereotypes I'd heard, they really do only supply the bare necessities; a bed, one mug, a singular fork, and perhaps a pot and pan if you’re lucky.

But it had character… and six other random girls from all over the world inside to welcome me. I quickly learnt I’d be sharing a room with the two English speaking girls, one Australian and one Canadian - a room of Commonwealth. Pun intended.

After dumping my bags I tried to stay awake long enough to make a good impression with my new roommates, but the combination of jet lag, homesickness, and the sudden realisation that I was very far from home meant I quickly retreated into my shell and attempted to sleep.

Before that, though, the conversation had taken an… interesting turn.

Within minutes the girls had begun sharing their thoughts about the agents, some of which weren't positive. Hearing this mixed with the fact I was running on approximately zero hours of sleep, and the fact I'd never met said agents led to me thinking, 'What on earth have I got myself into?'

I’d arrived on a Sunday, and Monday happened to be a public holiday for Samiljeol, which celebrates South Korea’s independence. Meaning I had two full days to sit, wait, overthink, and spiral slightly before meeting my Korean agents.

Those two days were a strange blur of jet-lag naps, trips to a nearby Starbucks to panic call my mum, and a few oddly comforting conversations with the girls in the apartment. It felt like the world’s slowest countdown to the moment my actual modelling experience would begin.

And when it finally did… well.

Within about five minutes of meeting the agents, it became clear the truth sat somewhere in the middle. A few of the stories I’d heard had a grain of accuracy, others had clearly grown in the retelling, and the rest were probably just classic model-apartment mythology.

The reality was they were very nice and seemed perfectly normal. Questionable driving habits aside - but honestly, after the emotional turmoil of my first 48 hours, I decided I could live with that.

Into the swing of things:

For anyone uneducated on this side of modelling, a casting is to a model what an audition is to an actor. So the more castings the better.

Unbeknown to me, castings in Korea are actually quite different to Japan. While they felt familiar in the sense that you have no idea what’s going on and cannot understand a thing anyone is saying about you, they’re different in that there are usually no overlaps between agencies and they often turn out to be more like a fitting than a casting.

castings!!!

Which is brilliant, because it means a bigger success rate for booking jobs. The clients often already know who they want and just want to confirm in person that you suit what they envisioned.

Turns out from that first day of castings I booked one of the jobs. Booked = Confirmed = Moneyyyyy… so as you can imagine I was overjoyed at my speedy rise to work.

However, having only been in the country for two days I was still very homesick and ended the day crying on the phone to my Aunt in an E-Mart as my foreign card was declined and the ATM rejected me multiple times.

You could safely say I was still in the adjustment period.

Thankfully with each day it got a bit easier, as it inevitably does when living in a new country. You slowly find your favourite coffee shops, learn the location of your groceries along the aisles, and little by little the homesickness fades into a love for a new way of life.

First Job in Korea: So Dinky… lols

By Thursday I had my first job! Yay me. It was for a brand called So Dinky (so cutesy) and was from a casting a few days prior where a tiny little rat dog licked my toes… and yes, it also ended up at the job. Great. 

As most ‘firsts’ are, it was a bit rocky to start with. I was told to wash my hair that morning… and was quickly told off for having wet hair. Makes sense. My posing was also rather rusty, however I got the hang of it within a few looks and the rest of the job flew by.

There was one slightly moody makeup artist who seemed personally offended by the biological necessity of blinking while she worked on my face. But the rest of the team were lovely and remarkably energetic about my presence, which is always nice.

The dog, however, remained chaotic. It had the vocal confidence of a Great Dane and the energy of a sugar-fuelled toddler, all while being deeply obsessed with feet for some reason. Someone show it feet-finder ASAP.

One thing that surprised me about working in Korea is that models are accompanied to jobs by an agent who acts as a translator throughout the day.

It’s actually quite a luxury, having someone guide you through the schedule and translate instructions, although it does take a moment to get used to the constant back-and-forth while you’re trying to focus on posing and lighting without understanding much.

the website covered in my face!

The job itself went well, but the day after came my first introduction to the modelling industry’s favourite pastime: bonding through bitching. The translator had shared a few observations with my roommate about my posing, which I found a little unprofessional.

But modelling, like many creative industries, has a very chatty ecosystem. Information travels fast and everyone seems to know a little bit about everyone else.

The atmosphere between models can sometimes reflect that too. A few of the girls jokingly commented that I’d be “stealing their jobs” after doing well at early castings - the kind of comment delivered with a smile, but with a tiny hint of competition underneath.

Which, to be fair, is part of the job. Modelling is built on competition; it’s literally a room full of people being compared against each other. Normally I’m used to being on the less lucky side of that equation, so finding myself on a good streak for once is very nice and I will be taking full advantage of it! 

One final note from this shoot: the food. Exceptional. It instantly reminded me of working in Japan, where the catering on set is somehow always incredible. You arrive for a lunch break and end up eating like you’ve wandered into a very good restaurant - a perk of the job I will never complain about.

Weekend Antics:

After a shorter week of castings because of the bank holiday we were all free for the weekend, so my roomies decided to show me around Myeongdong - an area in Seoul renowned for thrifting, shopping, eating, and everything in between. Because of this it is of course absurdly busy.

The thrifting did not disappoint. As an avid shopper I will definitely be returning to one shop in particular… Root Vintage in Myeongdong is THE place to be if you want a bargain designer find. I was gobsmacked.

I cannot wait for my best friend Aoife to arrive next week because not only is she my favourite person, she is also my much needed bad influence for shopping.

We spent the rest of the day browsing this truly amazing wholesale store called Nyu Nyu - I literally haven’t shut up about it. I got the cutest red beanie because it is absolutely freezing here and it cost a whopping £2.50. Insanity.

On Sunday I wanted to do something a bit more cultural, so me and Minna, one of my roomies, went to Bukchon Hanok Village - a historic part of Seoul still populated by traditional Korean buildings. As you can imagine it was quite picturesque. We wandered around for a while and found the cutest souvenirs - I’m always going to fall for a cute magnet or a perfectly coloured bookmark.

On the way back we found a pizza place and they only had one table left… in the basement. We were absolutely lolling but it was actually quite cute and I wolfed it down immediately. I needed something Western in my system so badly.

So that was the end of week one and I’m now headed into week two hoping it would be full of jobs… and knowing for a fact it would be packed with castings.

We are SO back guys… and I missed you lots.

With love,

Mimi x

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