Miss Korea 2026 winner Woo Seo-yun faces plastic surgery debate after old TV clips resurface

Woo Seo-yun claimed the Jin title at the 70th Miss Korea pageant on the 22nd, beating 26 finalists at COEX in Gangnam, Seoul. The win placed her at the center of two conversations at once: the more celebratory one about her background and ambitions, and a contentious online debate about plastic surgery.

The 22-year-old is the eldest daughter of Woo Ji-won, a former professional basketball player turned television personality. She inherited his height, he stands 191 cm, she stands 175 cm, and had been on Korean screens intermittently since childhood, appearing on SBS's Star Junior Show Bungeo-ppang, tvN's Nest Escape 3, and most recently the tvN STORY and ENA romance reality series My Kid's Romance 2, which wrapped in April. In that show she was part of a rival dynamic with comedian Lee Sung-mi's daughter Jo Eun-byeol over Shin Jae-hyeok, the son of soccer manager Shin Tae-yong; she did not end up as part of the final couple. She qualified for the national pageant in May after winning the Sun (善) title at the 70th Miss Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon regional competition.

The plastic surgery question

Shortly after the pageant results were announced, older footage and photos from her TV appearances began circulating online. Some viewers, comparing her teenage appearance on Nest Escape 3 to how she looks now, raised the possibility of cosmetic surgery. Reactions split quickly. One side argued that competing in a beauty pageant after having work done was inappropriate, with some calling for formal restrictions on candidates who have undergone procedures. The other side pushed back, noting that comparing a teenager's face to that of a 22-year-old adult is not straightforward evidence of anything, and that weight changes and makeup alone can substantially alter how someone looks. Woo Seo-yun has not addressed the speculation publicly, and whether she has had any procedures remains unconfirmed.

The debate also brought renewed attention to a 2010 appearance by her mother, Lee Gyo-young, on SBS's Star Couple Show Jagiya. On that program, Lee told viewers to try to find which parts of her face she had not had done, suggesting it would be the easier task. The remark was candid at the time and has since taken on renewed relevance given the questions now being directed at her daughter.

Woo Ji-won and Lee Gyo-young married in 2002, had two daughters together, and divorced in 2019.

Beyond the pageant

At the 70th Miss Korea ceremony, Oh Su-min, 25, representing Jeolla-Gwangju-Jeju, took the Sun (善) title, while Lee Min-sol, 21, representing Busan-Ulsan, won Mi (美).

Woo Seo-yun is currently studying fine arts at Tufts University in the United States, with a stated goal of working as a global art curator. The gap between that trajectory and the Miss Korea stage is worth noting: the pageant has historically served as a launch pad for entertainment careers in Korea, but her public profile and educational path suggest she may be approaching it differently. Whether her win translates into any shift in those plans remains to be seen.