Lee So-ra returns to Paris Fashion Week

Lee So-ra returned to television on April 26 with a new MBC reality show built around a specific goal: getting back to Paris Fashion Week with Hong Jin-kyung. (chosun.com 1) (chosun.com 2) The program, “Sora and Jin-kyung,” follows the two first-generation South Korean supermodels as they train again for the runway they dominated in the 1990s. MBC confirmed the first episode for April 26 after releasing the show’s teaser and poster earlier this month. (starnewskorea.com) (chosun.com) Lee, 56, said the return is not just another booking. On the show and in pre-broadcast interviews, she described old runway memories as traumatic and said she wondered whether taking on Paris again could help heal them. (chosun.com) (tenasia.com)) One reason is physical. Chosun reported that Lee is still dealing with aftereffects from a 2011 femoral fracture, and quoted her saying her hip still hurts as she practices the faster walk now common on runways. (chosun.com) Another is what modeling demanded of her body. In the April 26 premiere, Lee said extreme dieting during her earlier career left lasting trauma, and she linked that history to her hesitation about returning to fashion work. (chosun.com 1) (chosun.com 2) Hong Jin-kyung is part of the story, not just a supporting cast member. The two models reunited after a 15-year gap, and the show frames Paris Fashion Week as a shared challenge for women now in their 50s rather than a nostalgia cameo. (starnewskorea.com) (tenasia.com)) Paris Fashion Week itself remains one of the industry’s official tentpole events, organized by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, with seasonal calendars that set the pace for global runway casting. (fhcm.paris) That makes Lee’s return legible as a career move with real stakes: she is preparing for a current international runway circuit, not simply revisiting old footage from the 1990s. The show’s premise is whether that preparation can carry two veteran models back onto one of fashion’s most competitive stages. (chosun.com) (fhcm.paris) For now, the clearest fact is the one the show opened with on April 26: Lee So-ra is walking toward Paris again, this time with a camera following every step. (chosun.com)