Soo Joo Park is a striking sight in an oversized black blazer and dark work pants, accented by her bleached eyebrows and dusty pink ballet flats. Three media professionals encircle the Korean-American model as she taps away on her phone.Park was in Toronto to act as the panel moderator for a beauty event hosted by L'Oréal Paris in March.
Park started modelling at the age of 23 after being scouted. "In a lot of jobs, and in life, 23 is quite young. But in modelling, at that time, 23 was quite old," Park said. "So I had to kind of, at first, not mention my age. By the time I became successful, I was 26 or 27, and then became more open about my age. But yeah, when I first started going to castings I was like, 'Oh, I'm 21.
Park said she came to the conclusion that "what's really important is your soul, and you have to protect it. That's what's going to shine through in conjunction with all the beauty products and the hairstyles and what you wear." Park also considers the possibility that the trend of pre-teens seeking anti-aging skincare might be related to the same search for identity that she also experienced. "When I was an adolescent I had a really hard time fitting in. I didn't know what to do as an individual. I didn't know who Soo Joo was," Park said. "I grew up in a very suburban, conservative town. I always felt like there was something more… you're down to experiment and, you know, try things.