While America’s Next Top Model kicks off its 19th season on Friday (26 August) with an all-new set of judges, the third series of the show in Korea has got everybody talking because it features the country's first transgender contestant.

Choi Han-bit, 26, is a South Korean actress and model who studied traditional dance at the Korean National Academy of Arts in Seoul.

In 2006, with the support of her parents, she received male-to-female gender-reassignment and changed her name and is now legally recognized as female in South Korea.

After transitioning, Han-bit followed her life long ambition of becoming a model.

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