SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN STEWARDESSES VIE FOR TOP PLACE IN 'BEST SMILE' COMPETITION ,TO BECOME THE FUTURE FACE OF KOREAN AIRLINES

Record ID: 860544

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN STEWARDESSES VIE FOR TOP PLACE IN 'BEST SMILE' COMPETITION ,TO BECOME THE FUTURE FACE OF KOREAN AIRLINES
  • Date: 2nd March 2004
  • Summary: SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) GENERAL MANAGER OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CRIMSON LEE SAYING: "To concentrate all our efforts on service in the future, we are holding a smile contest among our flight attendants to select someone with a queenly smile and who will make her smile well-known to every country in the world." VARIOUS OF FLIGHT ATTENDANT CONTESTANTS INTRODUCTION WIDE OF FLIGHT CONTESTANTS
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • City:
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA4JV40466TP06FIW93K8FH89BO
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: South Korean stewardesses vie for top place in a competition for best smile.
    Flight attendants hit the catwalk with grins on their faces on Tuesday (March 2), hoping to become the future face of South Korea's largest airline.
    Twenty-four stewardesses attended the 'Smile Queen 'contest organised by Korean Air, introducing themselves one-by-one on stage wearing the knee length navy-blue skirt suit which has been the airline's former uniform since 1991.
    A panel of judges comprised of Korean Air executives, government officials and foreign embassy members in Korea closely watched the contestants as they glided on stage, beaming smiles over their evening dresses.
    Some contestants left their stewardess demeanour on-flight and let their individuality take off, as they sang and danced to Korean pop beats in gold-plated belly-button shirts and shiny pink mini-skirts.
    The competition ended with the contestants hitting the catwalk in Korean Air uniforms from the past, with some dating back to the establishment of the airline in 1969.
    Crimson Lee, the marketing manager of Korean Air, said it was all about service with a smile.
    "To concentrate all our efforts on service in the future, we are holding a smile contest among our flight attendants to select someone with a queenly smile and who will make her smile well-known to every country in the world," Lee said.
    In the end it was decided that 21-year-old Chung Soon-E was beaming the brightest and she took the "Smile Queen" crown.
    Chung has been a flight attendant at Korean Air for two years.
    "I am honoured to be selected as smile queen and will fully represent the smile representing Korean Air in the future," Chung said after winning.
    Korean Air reported a net loss of 241 billion won in 2003, hit by the outbreak of SARS and a sluggish economy.
    The airline, the world's third-biggest cargo air carrier, will invest $9 billion over the next years to improve service and company infrastructure.
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