Above: Diane Yoo crowning moment as Miss Asia USA

Miss Korea Diane Yoo wins National Title at 20th Anniversary of Miss Asia USA.  Diane Yoo will continue to serve as an ambassador for Asian Americans in USA and will travel globally to represent her title.   

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MISS KOREA CROWNED MISS ASIA USA 2008  Miss Asia USA 2008 – 20^th Annual Cultural Pageant – Alex

“The title Miss Asia USA is earned through dedication, hard work and the demonstration of self-confidence, intelligence, beauty and elegance,” according to Virgelia Villegas, President of Virgelia Productions, Inc and the producer and director of Miss Asia USA.  Diane Yoo showed the judges and the audience that she has all of those qualities in abundance.  We are proud to have her representing the mission of Miss Asia USA to unite the communities of the 58 countries of the Asian continent because has already proven to be an outstanding role model for young Asian women in America.  Her total commitment was what impressed me the most.  Even though she lives in Houston, she never missed a rehearsal or pre-pageant event. It takes that kind of dedication to earn the crown.  I look forward to introducing her to all the Asian communities this coming year.”

 Virgelia went on to say, “I am extremely pleased and proud of all of our wonderful delegates and I offer them my sincerest gratitude for their participation and hard work.  Our 20^th Anniversary was unforgettable, and we couldn’t have done it without them.  The same is true for our generous sponsors, our staff and our fantastic hosts, Pilar Lastra and Hector Luis Bustamante.”    Virgelia also announced the Queen’s Court and the winners of the special recognition awards: Brittany Chen – Miss

Taiwan – 1^st Runner-upLinda Tram Nguyen – Miss

Vietnam – 2^nd Runner-up Liane Valenzuela – Miss

Philippines – 3^rd Runner-upTamanno Kamiljanova – Miss

Uzbekistan – 4^th Runner-up Best National Costume – Diane Yoo – Miss

KoreaMiss Photogenic – Chanita Thinrat – Miss

Thailand Miss Congeniality – Ouch Chourp – Miss

CambodiaMiss Popularity – Brittany Chen – Miss

TaiwanMiss Friendship – Sophia Garsevanian – Miss

ArmeniaAward of Courage – Ayako Kosuge – Miss

Japan. The newly crowned Miss Asia USA 2008 has already received an official invitation from the Consul General for the

Republic of

Korea to participate in a cultural tour of her country of heritage.  Details of the official visit have not yet been finalized and will be made available in the near future.

   

Attached are some recent Pics of Miss Korea Universe. JiSun lee is competing for Miss Universe title, way to represent Korea!

Above: May in her winning evening gown

Congratulations to May Lee, newly crowned Miss Korea Texas 2008.May is a local Houstonian and a music studies student at the famed Rice University. She is currently in Korea and will represent Texas for the Miss Korea crown. 

 For nearly two weeks over 60 contestants will live, eat, and sleep together as they compete for the famed Miss Korea title. During the two week stay, the contestants go through an enormous amount of pressure, competition, and judging.  A lifetime experience for all contestants, they will have to endure long rehearsal hours, learn valuable cultural etiquette,  wake up at 4AM for makeup/hair preparations, have several photo shoots, and public appearances. Best of Luck to May Lee!

In her national costume, hanbok

Above: Lynn Jo, former Miss Korea Texas 2007 and May Lee, newly crowned Miss Korea Texas 2008

With her amazing parents

Above: Sun Lee

Ji-Sun Lee, also known as “Sun Lee“, has left her native country to officially begin training for the prestigious, upcoming Miss Universe 2008!  Miss Universe 2008 will be held in Vietnam this July, stay tuned for updates.

Sun is exclusively training under the world famous Miss Universe Japan(MUJ) Director, Ines Ligron.  Ines is responsible for the current Miss Universe 2007- Riyo Mori and many other Miss Universe finalists.  This is the history breaking, because it is the first timeKorea has sent their national delegate and entrusted it to an entirely different country of origin for full-fledged training.  Ms. Ligron, of course, has quite a track record and soon the world will see the results at Miss Universe 2008. 

News has spread like wildfire that Sun is “in-the-zone” training and many of the fashion design houses have cut out their numbers, ready for her return.  Even amidst the competitive nature of the sport, no secrets have leaked yet.  Sun will have to live up to Honey’s shadow, unless she has a fierce personality and presence to stand her own.

Ms. Ligron has done wonders for the nation of Japan since she assumed management by creating outstanding, sexy, and independent women.  Interesting side note: Ines will be training rival countries(Japan and Korea)for the same title. 

Does this mean Ines has a future with Korea?  Only suspense remains as the rest of the story will unfold if Korea takes the victory at Miss Universe 2008! 

Can Sun bring Korea international recognition again and further surpass Honey Lee’s success at Miss Universe 2007?

Photo credit: Ines Ligron

Above: practice shots at MUJ headquarters

Sweet times: Sun Lee, Miss Korea Universe 2008 and Hiroko, Miss Japan Universe 2008 in training.

Miss Korea Texas visits Miss USA production in support of colleague and friend, Miss Texas USA Crystal Stewart.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) — A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Texas was named Miss USA on Friday, besting 50 other beauty queens for the coveted crown.

 Crystle Stewart of Missouri City, Texas, runs a party-planning and motivational speaking company, and models professionally. She says she wants to dedicate her life to international philanthropy.

“I want to talk to people about how to set a goal and achieve it,” she told The Associated Press after the show. “Because I just achieved my goal.”

Stewart edged out first runner-up Leah Laviano of Mississippi and Tiffany Andrade of New Jersey.

Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith relinquished the crown — and the posh New York apartment that comes with it — in a show aired live by NBC with hosts Donny and Marie Osmond from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The network co-owns the parent Miss Universe Organization with Donald Trump.

Smith, a former Miss Tennessee USA, said she was headed to Hollywood.

Stewart was headed for the publicity circuit. She said she was eager to travel and spread her message of self-improvement to young women. She noted that she was one of only a handful of black women crowned Miss USA in the pageant’s 57-year history.

“I think the United States is coming together,” she said, citing the historic presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She declined to name her preference.

“I don’t know; we’ll see. Fundamentally, I’m a Democrat,” she said.

Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have been in Las Vegas for nearly three weeks, rehearsing and hyping the 57th annual pageant. After stints in Baltimore and Los Angeles, organizers billed the new venue as a city beloved by the event’s international audience.

The pageant tried to showed off its edge, featuring a grinding live rock performance by the band Finger Eleven, music from Rihanna and contestants in barely there black bikinis and faux-fur coats.

Donny and Marie kept up a steady stream of sibling banter even while swiftly whittling the field.

Donny Osmond told the losers to “put on a poker face” as he sent them home.

“Or use Botox; then it won’t move,” Marie quipped.

Stewart will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam in July. She also becomes a spokeswoman for breast and ovarian cancer awareness and other causes, while traveling to promote the organization.

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Asked to comment on the lawsuit, Stewart was whisked away by organizers. The Miss Universe Organization would not comment on the matter.

The panel of judges for Friday’s pageant included Heather Mills, model and former wife of Paul McCartney; comedian Rob Schneider; Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard; and Christian Siriano, winner of Bravo’s fashion reality series, “Project Runway.”

Credit: www.missusa.com

** CHECK BACK WITH MISS KOREA TEXAS SITE FOR EXCLUSIVE PICS FROM MISS USA 2008 EVENT!! **