Newhalf.Com

Translate This Page

Born Choi Han-jin

South Korea
Occupation Model
Height 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Ethnicity: Korean

Choi is a graduate of the School of Dance at the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, where she majored in Korean traditional dance. With the support of her parents, Choi underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery in 2006.

She changed her given name from Han-jin to Han-bit, and is legally recognised as female in South Korea.

In an interview, Choi said that "living with the female body itself brought me the greatest feeling of euphoria", but also that she has "a fond memory of the past before the operation". Prior to her surgery, she had appeared on the SBS television show Yoo Jae-suk's Jinsil Game in 2005.

After transitioning, Choi began to pursue her lifelong ambition of becoming a model. In 2009, she was amongst more than 1,200 applicants to the annual SBS-sponsored Super Model Contest, and gained public attention by progressing through the contest's preliminary rounds.

Choi's participation drew mixed reactions from internet users and other contestants,

but SBS officials stated that they would view it as a "violation of human rights" to disqualify a transgender individual whose legal sex was female.

As one of the contest's 32 finalists, Choi automatically qualified as a professional model. Despite this, Choi claims to have faced discrimination in the modelling industry, having been refused participation in a fashion show without any clear reason.

Since taking part in Super Model Contest, Choi has appeared on a number of television shows and has expressed a desire to become an actress. She has said that she hopes to marry around the age of thirty, and will adopt two children.

Choi Han-bit