Foreign beauty in the city

Koreans are coming in droves to Philippine shores to study English, but for 23-year-old Emma, the Heart Evangelista dead ringer who's a magazine and runway model back in her home country, having spent several months in the country has broadened her horizons in ways she never thought were possible.

This writer was skimming through the pages of an old Allure magazine issue when a statuesque, ivory-skinned student glided into the mezzanine's sofa across me.

I was a hundred percent certain that she's a Korean because, after eight months of teaching at CPILS (Cebu Pacific International Language Services), I have developed an eye for knowing a Korean from a Japanese. While the Korean girls sport long, simple, straight black hair, the Japanese are having it styled or dyed.

"Hello teacher. So you're into fashion, aren't you?" she asked, maybe because she couldn't help getting fascinated at the thought of a male reading a beauty/fashion mag. She catwalked her way to my left and, at once, she put an end to my mental guess that she's a model. "Not really," I answered giving a hint that I wasn't a male trying to feast my eyes on the sexy female models. "I'm just reading the column of my favorite makeup artist (the late) Kevyn Aucoin and trying to learn about his makeup tips."

Yang Suk Eun (whose English name is Emma) came from Seoul last July, temporarily putting her five-year-long modeling career on hold, to study English as a Second Language in Cebu.

But why Cebu? With her sleek jet black hair gracefully spread around her broad shoulder, she said, "Cebu is the most popular Philippine city from Korea. It's known to be the best place for honeymooners. Boracay also. But Cebu has both the city and the beach. I love it here."

She hadn't any idea that Cebu was going to be her venue not only for polishing her English but, more important, for broadening her horizons. Thanks to the gays who are abroad in this country. "I was surprised to see many gays in Cebu. Because there are many, many gay teachers in CPILS, I've known how talented and intelligent they are. I've enjoyed their company and I will certainly miss them. Being in Cebu has opened my mind," she sighed, wishing she hadn't been scheduled to leave Cebu (today) and its beautiful people that taught her English and Culture (as it turned out along the way).

She started strutting down the ramp when she enrolled in a three-year modeling course in Dongduk Women's University, the only university in Korea that offers such a course. Then she saw herself on the covers and the insides of such glossies as JJ, Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan (Korea versions). And, as if one entrusted to make a product sell like hotcakes, this Heart Evangelista lookalike also appeared in several T.V. commercials.

"I enjoy being a model. There's a lot of perks, like getting discounts in some stores, traveling, being invited to a dinner, meeting a lot of people, et cetera," Emma, 23, admitted, and waved hello to her boyfriend Shawn who was kind enough not to butt in our conversation which naturally turned out to be an interview. But as every model would second, it's not all glitz and glamour but hard work and acceptance. "Sometimes I feel like my time is not mine anymore, especially when the designer calls me to come to the shop for a fitting, or when my agency asks me to show up at a go-see, and I'm not in the mood to go."

Upon arriving in her country (later) the first thing she plans to do is make up her mind between resuming her modeling career or going to the United States. But one thing is for sure: She has been Giselle Bundchenning in Seoul runways long enough that it's about time she tried it out in a fashion capital like New York. "Why not? But my other goal in life, which I've long been wanting to achieve, is to be an editorial assistant of a fashion magazine in the U.S."

I handed her my beloved Allure copy and said without being biased (for Aucoin) that it's the best beauty/fashion read that I know. Rising from the sofa and both standing five-foot-nine, Emma and I walked down the stairs to the lobby where we exchanged thank-you's for the rather impromptu tete-a-tete and good-bye's for that unforgettable encounter.