Choi Han-bit

Choi Han-bit (Korean: 최한빛) is a South Korean model, actress and singer. She was a member of the South-Korean girl group Mercury.[3][4] She is a graduate of the School of Dance at the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, where she majored in Korean traditional dance.[2][5][nb 1] With the support of her parents, Choi underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery in 2006.[5][8][nb 1] She changed her given name to Han-bit, and is legally recognized as female in South Korea.[6][9] 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".[2] Prior to her surgery, she had appeared on the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) television show Yoo Jae-suk's Jinsil Game in 2005.[7] She was a contestant on Korea's Next Top Model, Cycle 3, where she ended 10th.

In this Korean name, the family name is Choi.
Choi Han-bit
Born (1987-06-16) 16 June 1987[1]
Gangneung, South Korea[1]
Occupations
Years active2009-present
SpouseUnknown (m. 2023)
Modeling information
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
AgencyStershop Entertainment, Gaon Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationChoi Han-bit
McCune–ReischauerCh‘oe Hanbit

Career

After transitioning, Choi began to pursue her lifelong ambition of becoming a model.[5] 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.[6][9] As one of the contest's 32 finalists, Choi automatically qualified as a professional model.[5] Despite this, Choi claims to have faced discrimination in the modelling industry, having been refused participation in a fashion show without any clear reason.[2] 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.[2]

Personal life

On 18 June 2023, Choi married a businessman seven years older than her in Gangneung.[10]

Filmography

Notes
  1. An article in The Korea Times states that Choi underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2007, and suggests that she is still a student at the Korea National University of Arts.[2] This would seem to contradict articles in The Chosun Ilbo and The Korea Herald which state that her surgery was in 2006 and that she is a graduate of the university.[6][7]

References
  1. "최한빛 모델". Naver Profiles. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  2. Park, Si-soo (27 November 2009). "Transsexual Model Fights Prejudice". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  3. "Choi Han-bit" Archived 5 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Nate. Retrieved 30 October 2011. (in Korean)
  4. "Choi Han-bit" Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Daum. Additional: QA Section Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 October 2011. (in Korean)
  5. "Transgender Model Vows Not to Rest on Her Laurels". The Chosun Ilbo. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  6. "Transgender Woman Makes Cut in Super Model Contest". The Chosun Ilbo. 18 July 2009. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  7. Hyun, Ji-hyang (30 March 2010). "Transgender woman challenges Supermodel contest". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  8. "Korea's first transgender supermodel". The Korea Herald. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  9. Kim, Rahn (16 July 2009). "Transsexual – Qualified for Beauty Contest or Not?". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  10. Kim Jun-seok (18 June 2023). "트랜스젠더 모델 최한빛, 오늘(18일) 강릉서 결혼…예비 신랑은 7세 연상 사업가" [Transgender model Choi Han-bit gets married in Gangneung today (18th)... The prospective groom is a businessman 7 years older than him] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via Naver.
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