Mister World Contest to Be Held in Seoul

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

The Mister World 2009 Contest will be held in Seoul for three weeks from late August till the middle of September with the participation of contestants from more than 80 countries.

The Hankook Ilbo-The Korea Times media group and the Miss World Organization (MWO) will co-host the biennial festival which will pick a ``James Bond-style'' Mr. World who represents creativity, leadership and tolerance, organizers announced Tuesday in London.

The signing ceremony was held between Chang Jae-ku, the chairman of the Korean media group and MWO Chairwoman Julia Morley at the Dorchester Hotel in London

The event stresses the contestants' volunteerism, leadership, cooperative spirit and other talents as the main criteria, a major departure from its original form where muscular beauty was the main priority.

Morley said that if the previous image of Mister World was the cartoon character Popeye, now it was James Bond. 

The Mister World Contest has been held since 1996 biennially, with various sports such as a marathon, mountain biking and water skiing as main contest events, along with fundraising for breast cancer and famine. The preliminaries and finals will be televised around the world, with an estimated audience of over one billion in over 140 countries. 

``I believe the contest will not only brighten the already depressing social atmosphere, but also upgrade Korea's global image and contribute to bringing many tourists next year, which was designated as `Visit Korea' Year,'' Chang said following the signing ceremony. The Hankook Ilbo has been hosting the Miss Korea pageant since 1957. 

Morley said she was happy the event is to be held in Korea, especially under the initiative of the Hankook Ilbo-Korea Times media group, and that she hoped that it will be an opportunity to show the energetic image of Korea which has been braving through the global economic downturn. 

The two also signed a memorandum of understanding which gives the media group ``the exclusive right to be the hosting company if Korea is chosen as the host country for the Miss World 2011 Final.''

Meanwhile, Morley was also appointed as the president of Variety International (VI), an international charity organization for children, on the same day. She said she hopes to launch a Korean branch with local companies to raise funds to support North Korean children. 

sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr