Woo Ji-won's Daughter Wins Miss Korea 2026 Top Crown

Woo Seo-yun, 22, was crowned Jin at the 70th Miss Korea Pageant on August 22, taking the competition's highest title at a ceremony held at COEX Auditorium in Gangnam, Seoul. The result connects to a broader pattern of second-generation celebrity children finding their own public platforms: Seo-yun is the eldest daughter of Woo Ji-won, a former professional basketball player, and had already appeared on television before the pageant.

Organized by Global E&B, the competition saw Seo-yun enter as the Sun (선) representative for the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon region. Speaking on stage after the announcement, she admitted the win caught her completely off guard. "I didn't prepare any remarks because I never expected this," she said. "My fellow contestants worked so hard. It was their dedication that made the stage what it was. I'm so grateful to my family and friends for always cheering me on."

Seo-yun is currently studying fine arts at Tufts University, a selective research university in Medford, Massachusetts. Her long-term goal is to work as a global art curator. She is not entirely new to public attention: she appeared as a child on Star Junior Show Bungeo-ppang, a variety program centered on celebrities and their children, and more recently joined the cast of My Baby's Romance 2 on tvN Story.

The competition's second honor, Sun (선), went to Oh Su-min, 25, who studies international liberal arts at Waseda University in Japan and represented the Jeolla, Gwangju, and Jeju region. The Mi (미) title was awarded to Lee Min-sol, 21, an economics student at Yonsei University's Underwood International College from the Busan and Ulsan region.

Two special awards were also presented. The Ye (예) award, recognizing the arts, went to Noh Hyang, 20, a Korean traditional music student at Seoul National University. The Jae (재) award for talent went to Lee So-min, 27, who studies piano at the Hannover University of Music, Theatre and Media in Germany.

The Miss Korea pageant has run since 1957 and remains one of South Korea's most prominent beauty competitions, though its cultural weight has shifted considerably as attitudes toward the format have changed. Seo-yun's win, with her academic background in the arts and an aspiration that sits well outside conventional celebrity paths, adds a note that organizers will likely find useful as the pageant navigates that shift.