Wait ’till next year
Well, Lee Ha-nui may not have won the Miss Universe, but there are dark rumors of jury-rigging as, at least in the Korean press, she had been rocketing to the top and won the titles of best face and traditional clothing. Anyway, as she did come in the top five perhaps her strong showing gives the author in this earlier post a stronger case now?
The holder of the 2007 Miss Universe tiara is Miss Japan, Mori Riyo (20).
Lee Ha-nui, participating as the Korean representative in the 2007 Miss Universe beauty pageant, took fourth place. On the morning of the 29th (Korean time) in the 56th Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Lee Ha-nui strode into the hot interest at a feast for the representatives of all nations.
Out of 77 contestants Lee Ha-nui made it to the end of the pageant along with the representatives from Brazil, Venezuela, Japan, and the United States.
The honor of first place went to Miss Japan, Mori Riyo. Lee Ha-nui stayed unhappily at fourth place. Second went to Brazil, third to Venezuela, and fifth to the United States.
As soon as the truth of this was announced, netizens across the world sent their encouragement to Lee Ha-nui and were breathless in their discontent. Their interest in whether or not she would win is gathered up more than at any other time. Until the end of the final round interest about who would win was amplified.
For this reason, netizens are pretty much in a rabid frenzy over the news of the fourth-place finish. One netizen wrote in reaction that “this is the power of a national power” and that he couldn’t understand how Miss Japan took first place. Also, allegations are surfacing about the pageant sponsor and profits made by Miss Japan.
The sponsors of the 2007 Miss Universe include Japanese jewelry company Mikimoto and fashion brand Tadashi. The Miss Universe tiara was manufactured at Mikimoto at a cost of $25,000 US. There are no domestic sponsors.
So in the reaction, some are expressing concerns such as “It’s just too much that she could have won just because of her home country so there’s no need for an oversensitive reaction” . Another netizen retorted “If you say she was chosen just by national strength, shouldn’t Miss America have taken first place?”
For our other Lee Ha-nui coverage, please see this post about the pageant’s start or this one about netizens comparing her to Miss Japan.
I think something such as beauty should not be judged by any specific group of people. As in the universe, anyway, the choice of the judges could never ever satisfied all the viewers. If some netizens in Korea feel sorry for Honey Lee, the same goes for other netizens who like Miss Brazil. I myself think that all of them are beautiful, that’s so difficult for someone to overall beat the other in a pageant competition. So at last, there’s no point for giving a reason for winning or losing at all. I think Honey Lee is happy because not only 1 person in this world think she is pretty. In fact, maybe hundreds of thousands think so! Calm down!!!
Comment by mushrooom — May 31, 2007 @ 7:26 am
… Well, they’re both pretty good looking people…
… altho it kinda looks like they went to the same plastic surgeon…
Comment by jjworm — June 1, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
She never gonna get the Miss universe as she went to a hospital(maybe hospitals) so many times to have a surgery(must be surgeries) and that must be against the rule.
Comment by from Mexico — June 21, 2007 @ 5:52 am