Emma HaarsmaEmma is currently in Seoul for modelling and keeps a diary about her experiences. In her first diary she told us about her arrival at the model apartment, first modelling job and guidance by the agency. In this article Emma gives us insight on how things work in Seoul regarding castings.
Tip you might want to read more about modelling:
How to get into modeling >>
Never enough skinny; top model diary >>
Fashion model Anouk (Paparazzi) about diet & sport >>
Last minute castings
[dropcap]E[/dropcap]mma: Every night my modelling agency sends me my casting schedule for the next day. This way I can check what time my first casting is, how many castings I have and what kind of castings they are. It may also happens that I have last-minute castings. But you don’t have to worry about that if you are planning to go abroad for modelling yourself; when you are on your way to castings with your manager on your side – which is the case when you model in Seoul, as I described here -, the agency will call your manager about that.
At the agency for lunch. On Tuesdays I always have lunch there with the other models from my agency. Lunch is prepared by the owners mom.
Castings in South Korea vs. castings in Europe
In the beginning I was really surprised about the castings. If you are used to work as a model in Europe, you can see big difference between castings in South Korea and castings in Europe. Here in Seoul you go to castings by car, accompanied by someone from your agency and other models from the same agency. That person from the agency has an exact appointment with the client, which is nice, because that way we almost never have to stay in line and wait at castings. So no long lines with 100 models in front of you as it goes in Milan or other places! I guess the longest time I had to wait for a casting was 1 hour and this only happened to me once. I got that job by the way, so it was totally worth waiting 
In case we do have to wait for a casting, most of the time it’s because we were too early and the client was not there yet.
On my way to castings with other models from my agency and our manager.
Tip: you also might want to read Emma’s other blogs about modeling in Seoul:
Modeling in Seoul: arrival, guidance & 1st job >>
Modeling in Seoul: the model apartment >>
At the casting: meeting with the client
At the casting your manager will take you and the other models that came with you to the client. The manager will hand the set cards of the models to the client. New to me was the fact that at almost every casting the clients wants you to sit down. Sometimes you are sitting at the table with a client and he asks you if you want something to drink. Your manager will than tell the client something about you, where you’re from, how old you are and something about your work experience.
Better circumstances than in Europe
In my opinion these circumstances at castings are better than in Europe; no long waiting lines and hours of waiting in the outside heat or cold, on the floor or on the stairs and no stress about being on time for your next casting. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not always like this, but these situations are familiar to most models!
Showing up at castings: dress up!
In Europe clients expect you to come to castings as natural as possible so that they can see your skin and face. Models should wear zero to no make-up, no jewelry and just basic clothes that reveal your body shape; a skinny jeans and a black top will do. On the contrary, in South Korea clients expect you to dress up nicely, wear make-up, some cute accessories and heels. Of course this should not be overdone, but they at least expect you to wear foundation, mascara, lipstick, eye shadow and eye liner.
Wear clothes that can be changed quickly
At almost every casting in Seoul your pictures is taken and you’ll be asked to try on some clothes. It’s therefore not really useful to wear a skinny jeans that is hard to take off quick. I wear short’s, skirts and a tank top on a daily base, so I can easily and quickly change . I’m lucky it’s summer now ;).
‘Dressing up’ for Korean castings; I wear clothes that can be changed quick, as at most castings models have to fit clothes.
Taking pictures: happy, smiley catalogue-style
Than the shooting starts: a few pictures from your front, profile and back and some full length free poses. I can tell you the posing here is really different compared to other places. It’s more in catalogue-style. In the beginning this was a bit hard for me, because I was used to doing weird high fashion poses and looking serious. Here in Seoul they ask you to smile and be happy a lot though. How do I need to do that, haha!
Weird poses in a wedding dress?
The way clients ask you to pose also depends on the type of casting. Seoul has a lot of castings for wedding, lingerie, sports wear, golf and online shopping. That’s what makes the difference; I guess you don’t want to see a model doing weird high fashion poses in a wedding dress
Lingerie castings
Sometimes it can be annoying that clients let all the models try clothes; there are so many different types of girls and not every girl is the right type for a certain kind of job. As I am not that curvy, I’m not really a type for underwear jobs for example. I therefore never book jobs like that. Even though, at many castings they still ask me to fit their lingerie and make a lot of pictures of me wearing their lingerie, even if the underwear and bra are way too big, haha! Both for me and the client this is a waste of time, although some o these clients will remember me.
How I make sure the lingerie clients remember me
The last time I had an underwear casting for instance, we (the other models and I) were all wearing the underwear handed to us at that casting and one by one the client took pictures of us. After we were done, we changed into our own clothes again. Of course I was happy about this casting being done, so I thought let’s change fast. My mind was somewhere else I guess. I quickly put on my top and my skirt after. Wearing a skirt to castings is most efficient, as it doesn’t require to take off my shoes, I figured.
After the casting the other models and I went back to the car to go back to the apartment. Somewhere I felt something was different compared to earlier that day, but I couldn’t decide what it was. Back in the apartment I realized what it was: I was still wearing the undies from the casting!! Woops!
I couldn’t stop laughing, but needed to go downstairs to the agency to tell them I was still wearing that undie. The client already called my agency to tell them that one of their models took the underwear. Lol, yeah, that was me! Of course these kind of things always happening to me. Now I know for sure underwear jobs are not my thing! 😀
Magazine castings and building your book fast
In the beginning of the month there are magazine castings. Those are more in the style of Europe and the USA. The good thing about South Korean editorial jobs is that these are shot in the beginning of the month and at the end of the month you already have your tear sheets (a picture ‘torn’ out of a magazine). This way you never have to wait for your pictures and new magazine work for a long time. Sometimes you also get the magazine you worked for. Seoul is therefore a good market for models that are looking to build their book fast.”
Thank you Emma for your lovely diary! Looking forward to your third Seoul diary next month!
Question
Are you thinking about going to Seoul or another city to model? Do you have any questions about that? Leave them in the comments below and Emma and I will answer them!
