Carmen Dellorefice, 91, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-serving model once said that you don’t lose your passion with age, you get older because your passion disappears. This is a saying that reminds us that anyone, regardless of age, can achieve their goals as long as their passion doesn’t cool down. In these days, when more and more people are knocking on their second life in a 100-year-old environment due to life extension, there is no suggestion that gives hope and dreams like this. Model Choi Hwan-geum is considered to be a representative senior who responded that way. PowerKorea met her, who became a hot topic for receiving the ‘Korea Model Association President’s Award’ and the ‘Herald’s Korea Cultural Management Awards’ in the senior model category.

▲ Model Choi Hwan-geum

Act 2 life as a model who opened her life wide, becoming a ‘senior role model’

With a straight and undistorted body shape, she can appear to be in your late 50s at first glance. But when we find out her real age, everyone is surprised. Model Choi Hwan-Geum, who is 70 years old (69 years old) in Korean age, looks 10 years younger. In her first words, she said, “Starting my dream job as a model, I gained confidence that I can do anything regardless of my age. I am spending my old age with the pleasure of seeing myself improving day by day.” No other person can keep up with his passion for the second act of life. She is an entertainer in hanbok and fashion shows. In October of last year, she challenged the theater and performed successfully. These efforts won the Korea Model Association President’s Award at the 3rd ‘Korea Senior Model Contest’ hosted by KMA (Korea Model Association) in January 2021 and the ‘Hanbok Best Model Award’ from the KMA (Korea Model Association) 1st Hanbok Model Contest in July of this year. And in September, the Herald (Herald Economy & Korea Herald) selected by major media companies was the first recipient of the ‘17th Korea Cultural Management Awards’ in the senior (40-70 years old) model category. It was the result of a solid history and passion accumulated over the years.

Creating a life with no regrets by engraving the words of the Talmud with reticence

There are many passages in the passion of model Choi Hwan-geum that give a glimpse of how hard she has lived. She has 28 years of public service. After graduating from high school, she came up from Gwangju to Seoul for a while and lived in the same place where her older brother and mother, who were college students, lived. From then on, she attended Yangjae Academy and obtained a certificate of dress tailoring. Starting with this, she has obtained 11 certifications including social worker, word processor level 1, and psychological counselor. She worked at Gwangju City Hall and completed master’s courses at Gwangju University (Administrative Studies) and Dongguk Public Administration Graduate School (Welfare Administration). She helped her husband, who was a public servant, gave birth to three children, raised them, and lived a decent life as a model civil servant. She wrote the saying of the Talmud, “Regret for not doing what you wanted to do rather than regretting what has already been done.” It all stems from the will not to waste everything. For these efforts, she received the ‘Minister of Health and Welfare Award’ in 1993, the ‘Gwangju Metropolitan City Mayor’s Award’ in 1999, the ‘Minister of the Interior Award’ in 2004, and the ‘Prime Minister Award’ (No. 160281) in 2010. The motives that fueled the model’s dream came after retiring from public service. As part of the job project during the days of Mayor Lee Yong-seop in Gwangju, the Senior Model Department was introduced to the Cultural Center and she completed with the guidance of an acquaintance. Then, she started working as a model in the clothing business.

Dare to challenge modeling and acting in old age

She is a person who showed the strength of a Korean woman with a reticent and cautious personality. As a devout Catholic, she is quiet and seems to be a person with a harmonious and refined sensibility and reason. She is currently working as a model for the Korea Model Association (KMA) and JACTORS, traveling to and from Seoul along with the clothing business in the Sangmu district of Gwangju. She will be back on stage at the ‘2022 Asian Open Collection Senior Fashion Show’ to be held in Uijeongbu this October. She has helped the visually impaired, multicultural families, and boy and girl heads of household during her public service, and has been providing her own support, though small since last year, through Good Neighbors and UNICEF. She says “The things I’ve been working hard on since I was young pass like a lantern. I have lived my life diligently, and even now, I just do my best in the environment that is given to me every day in good health. Age is just a number. I want to be like ‘Carmen Dellorefice’, a high-class global model. I plan to continue working hard as a representative senior model in Korea by challenging myself without being bound by my age and doing more activities that serve as a model for old age.”