Born almost a decade before the first-ever Miss Universe contest was held in 1952, 80-year-old Choi Soon-hwa dreamed of becoming the pageant’s oldest-ever participant. Earlier this month, she was announced as a finalist in the annual Miss Universe Korea competition. However, she narrowly missed winning her dream title after 22-year-old Han Ariel bagged the top honour.
Despite being decades older than her fellow contestants, Choi’s efforts were largely recognised and she even won the Best Dresser award. Highly motivated and determined, Choi, a former hospital care worker, hopes to inspire others to pursue a healthier lifestyle and find joy in their dreams. If not now then when? An 80-year-old senior model, Choi Soon-hwa who walked her first runway in her 70’s made history as she is one of the official candidate for Miss Universe Korea 2024.
She was born in the middle of WWII and the Korean war when she was 6. 👸🏻🇰🇷 pic.twitter.
com/KOQqWNOkGh — PJ RN ☤ (@iamprincejanrn) September 17, 2024 Speaking to CNN, she shared her thoughts and said, “I want to stun the world, like, ‘How is an 80-year-old lady so healthy? How did she maintain that body? What’s your diet?’ When you get old, you gain weight. So, I want to show that we can live healthily even when we get old.” Prior to the pageant, Choi opened up about her stint in the competition, stating that she was determined to try and get the opportunity.
“Now that the age restriction has been lifted, I .