By Lee Min-young
For the past four weeks, 77 models from 24 Asian countries have been fiercely competing at the 'Untact Face of Asia 2020' ― the world's very first virtual modeling festival hosted by the Asia Model Festival Organizing Committee (AMFOC) based in Seoul.
And the organization has announced the 30 contestants who passed the preliminary round online mission.
The winners are:
| Bangladesh | Smriti Akter |
| China | Qirui Hao |
| Rui Ma | |
| Xiaohan Sun | |
| Hong Kong | Chan Yung Lung |
| India | Ekta Maru |
| Omni Thakkar | |
| Indonesia | Reihana |
| Japan | Miyahara Kanon |
| Kazakhstan | Narkulova Yasmin |
| Korea | Choi Hyeon-jin |
| Kim Se-won | |
| Lee Seo-yeong | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Sezim Chotubaeva |
| Laos | Khonevilay Mixay |
| Malaysia | Asyraf Dasley |
| Tan Yong Jie | |
| Mongolia | Bolat Marjan |
| Myanmar | Khin A Thada Aung |
| Min Myo Thazin | |
| Yune Wint Hlwar Aung | |
| Nepal | Bibek Khadka |
| Smriti Nepal | |
| Philippines | Christian Pauco |
| Hazel De Leon | |
| Singapore | Teo Zhi Ching Ally |
| Thailand | Ganticha Williams |
| Tuva Republic | Chechena Kyrgys |
| Uzbekistan | Ginatullina Zarina |
| Vietnam | Nguy?n V?n Nam |
Talented models from various backgrounds have taken part in this year's event. Chechena Kyrgys from Tuva Republic who passed the first round comes from a medical background. She works as a doctor busily treating COVID-19 patients during daytime but she managed to participate in interviews and submit online mission videos for the contest.
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This year's event ― sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Seoul city and Seoul Tourism Organization ― is being held online via multiple video-sharing platforms including its official YouTube channel and TikTok due to COVID-19 concerns.
Models have submitted their profile videos and completed various online missions to get through each step. The first mission included K-pop boy band BTS's "With Seoul" song cover in Korean and English, filming themselves taking part in art performances and shooting vlogs for Korean beauty brands.
Videos created by the models can be found at the 'Untact Face of ASIA' YouTube channel.
Evaluations are based on aggregated scores from industry experts (50 percent) and voting from AMFOC's mobile app (50 percent).
The winner of the contest will be announced on the day of the final competition which falls on Dec. 4. The prize money for this year's event is 100 million won ($86,000).