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Miss Korea 2008

Na Re will compete in Miss Universe; runner-up Choi Bo-in will go to Miss World

Miss Korea 2008 Na Re, center, and runner-ups of the 52nd Miss Korea Pageant smile and wave to the audience at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Wednesday evening. From left, 6th runner-up Lee Yu-na; 4th runner up Seo Seol-hee; 2nd runner-up Kim Min-jung; Na (center); first runner-up Choi Bo-in; 3rd runner-up Yun-hee; and 5th runner up Ilbo Kim Hee-kyeong. / Korea Times photo by Choi Hung-soo

The summer night was hot but so was the stage for the 2008 Miss Korea Pageant Wednesday. A total of 51 contestants participated in the race toward the crown and among them, Na Re, who entered the beauty contest as Miss Seoul, was crowned Miss Korea at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul.

The 22-year-old looked surprised when the host announced her name, and she received the diamond studded crown from former Miss Korea Sun Lee in tears.

``I did my best and I am honored to have seen the best result. I will continue to make every effort to become a person fit for the title Miss Korea,'' Na said.

A junior majoring in applied statistics at Yonsei University, Na is an expert at playing the violin, Pilates and also enjoys reading and watching movies. The beauty queen dreams of becoming a writer someday.

When asked if there was anyone else to thank, Na mentioned her parents and friends, who were watching from the audience cheering her on.

``The first person that comes to my mind is my mother. I also thank my fellow participants, the staff who helped me prepare and also my friends from Yonsei University,'' she added.

Na will represent Korea at the Miss Universe 2009 contest in May.

Two first runners-up were Choi Bo-in (21, Ewha Womans University) and Kim Min-jung (19, Daegu University). Choi will go to Miss World 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine; and Min-jung will go to Miss International in Japan and Macau.

There were four second runners-up ― Seo Seol-hee (19, Taekyeung University) also crowned as Miss Korea-Natural F&P; Lee Yu-na (20, Chosun University); Chang Yun-hee (21, Yonsei University) also crowned as Miss Korea-Jin Air; and Kim Hee-kyeong (23, Hanzhong University) who was also named Miss Korea-Hankook Ilbo.

Korean pop group Super Junior Happy appeared at the venue to celebrate the event, while the contestants participated in various dance performances in teams.

Beautiful women from 12 local cities and overseas metropolises such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and even Hawaii entered the contest. A total of 15 judges, including Lee In-jung, president of the Korean Alpine Federation; Jeong Gi-sang, vice president of the Hankook Ilbo; Seo Yong-won, vice president of Korean Air; and actor Park Sang-won participated in the event.

The 52nd Miss Korea Pageant was hosted by former announcer Shin Young-il and Park Jung-ah, a member of the pop group Jewelry, and was organized by the Hankook Ilbo and Sports Hankook, sister papers of The Korea Times. The event was sponsored by The Korea Times, the Seoul Economic Daily, Hankooki.com and Kids Hankook.

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