[Sportschosun Lee Ji-hyun] Jeong Yeon-woo, the 2025 Miss Korea winner, has spoken out directly about the repeated questions she has received over plastic surgery. As plastic surgery rumors swirl around this year’s Miss Korea winner U Seo-yoon, with old photos resurfacing online, attention is also turning to the outspoken remarks made by last year’s winner.
On the 28th, Jeong shared several photos on her social networking service showing her growth from childhood. Along with them, she posted a lengthy response to questions from followers such as, “Did you have plastic surgery!!” “Are you naturally beautiful?” and “You really didn’t have any work done, right?”
Jeong first said, “The thing I have heard most often while being Miss Korea seems to be questions about plastic surgery,” adding, “I honestly thought it was not even worth answering, so I never offered an explanation or a direct response.”
She said she had mostly stayed silent when such questions were directed at her, but decided to share her thoughts after seeing similar questions repeatedly aimed at fellow Miss Korea contestants around her.
Jeong said, “When I see people asking those questions not only to me but also to my close colleagues, I sometimes feel a little sorry for how badly they seem to want an answer.” She added that she understands why a pageant like Miss Korea naturally draws attention to appearance, but questioned the tendency to focus too heavily on whether someone has had plastic surgery.
Jeong pointed out, “Honestly, whether it is men or women, before talking about my appearance, shouldn’t people first learn how to ask a question properly? It is really rude.” She also said, in effect, that she hopes Miss Korea will not be treated as a competition that judges only faces, regardless of whether contestants have had plastic surgery.
Jeong especially emphasized that Miss Korea contestants are not judged by appearance alone. She said there are many stages in which contestants express themselves, including self-introductions and talent performances, and explained, “Every year, the judges set criteria for the kind of Miss Korea they most want to choose and examine our essence very closely.”
She also expressed regret over a culture that scrutinizes faces in detail and speculates about plastic surgery. Jeong criticized “people who examine someone else’s face piece by piece, wondering whether this part is natural or that part is suspicious, people whose eyes are not kind even when they are looking that closely, people who are trapped in narrow thinking and act rudely toward others by assuming they had surgery.” She added, “And people who do all that without even realizing how shameful it is.”
Jeong concluded by saying, in effect, that she simply feels sorry for those who cannot look at others properly. “If you come to know something you had not seen before, you realize that everything you had been trapped in within your own narrow view was not important at all,” she wrote.
Her post was published at a time when debate over plastic surgery surrounding this year’s Miss Korea winner U Seo-yoon was already continuing.
Meanwhile, U Seo-yoon, the eldest daughter of former professional basketball player and broadcaster Woo Ji-won, was crowned the winner at the 70th Miss Korea pageant held on the 22nd at COEX, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, beating 26 finalists. U, who is majoring in art at Tufts University in the United States, is known to dream of becoming a global art curator.
However, after her win, past television appearances resurfaced online, sparking unexpected plastic surgery rumors. U had appeared on tvN’s “Leaving the Nest Season 3” in 2018, when she was a teenager, and some internet users compared her then and now, raising the possibility of cosmetic procedures. Some even linked the issue to concerns about fairness in beauty pageants.
On the other hand, there has also been strong pushback against concluding that someone had plastic surgery based simply on a comparison between their teenage and twenties appearance. Critics note that changes from growth, weight loss, or makeup can significantly alter a person’s impression. As of now, U has reportedly not made any separate statement regarding the rumors.
Against this backdrop, Jeong Yeon-woo, who was crowned Miss Korea last year, has drawn attention for speaking directly about excessive interest in plastic surgery and appearance-based judgment. However, since she did not mention U Seo-yoon’s name or the current controversy directly in her post, it has not been confirmed whether the message was aimed at U.
Jeong was crowned at the 69th Miss Korea pageant last year. A graduate of Chungnam National University’s Department of Electrical, Electronics & Communication Engineering Education, she had been preparing to become a teacher while pursuing her dream of becoming an educator before entering Miss Korea. At the time, she said she wanted to become someone who has a positive influence on many people.
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