Mia Kang is a half-British, half-South Korean model. In recent times, some people might have become familiar with her because of her role as the host on Spy Games. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Mia Kang:
1. Born and Raised in Hong Kong
Kang was born and raised in Hong Kong. For those who are unfamiliar, Hong Kong is considered to be a part of China but possesses a special status that enables it to maintain its own governing system as well as its own political system. This is a product of how the region was colonized by the British Empire in the 19th century before being returned to China towards the end of the 20th century. When that happened, Hong Kong made up a huge proportion of Chinese GDP. However, the massive expansion of the Chinese economy over the last couple of decades has caused its economic importance to shrink. Something that has contributed to the recent tensions to an extent.
2. Used to Dance
It should be mentioned that Kang was interested in dance when she was still growing up. However, it was her dance teacher who suggested that she consider modeling when she was still at the age of 13. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kang didn’t have a very good understanding of modeling at the time, as shown by how she thought that it was everyone else’s job to make the final result look good.
3. Used to Be Overweight
Curiously, Kang was once very overweight. In fact, she was so overweight as a child that she was considered to be at risk of developing diabetes, which speaks volumes about her condition at the time. Unfortunately, Kang was bullied at school because of her weight.
4. Used to Have an Eating Disorder
In time, Kang’s situation became bad enough that she decided to stop eating, with the result that she proceeded to halve her weight. This was what enabled the launch of her modeling career. Furthermore, this was what exposed her to a very unpleasant part of the human experience because the boys who used to bully her started asking her out instead. Regardless, considering the demands that the modeling industry puts upon models, it should come as no surprise to learn that Kang continued to have serious health issues with eating into her late 20s.
5. Got Into Muay Thai
Kang has credited Muay Thai with saving her life when the stresses of modeling became too much for her. For those who are unfamiliar, Muay Thai is a Thai combat sport that evolved from techniques that were once used for real combat. Sometimes, it is called either the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, which is meant to put emphasis on how the combat sport has eight points of contact thanks to its use of elbow strikes as well as knee strikes on top of punches and kicks. In the past, Muay Thai practitioners were known to wear lengths of hemp rope wrapped around their fists as well as their forearms, which were meant to protect themselves as well as cause more damage on their opponents. However, this changed because it was too dangerous, particularly when knots were incorporated into the rope for extra effect.
6. Has Started Doing Mixed Martial Arts As Well
In more recent times, Kang has started doing mixed martial arts as well. This is perhaps unsurprising, seeing as how Muay Thai is a very popular choice for mixed martial artists because of its usefulness for the stand-up component as well as the clinch component. Having said that, it should be noted that the basic concept behind mixed martial arts is by no means unprecedented but has instead shown up in a wide range of cultures in a wide range of places. For instance, the ancient Greek combat sport of pankration permitted everything save for biting, eye gouging, and groin striking. As a result, there is a very well-known incident of a man who was crowned an Olympic winner even though he had been killed in his pankration match. This happened because the man broke his opponent’s toe when he was in a chokehold that he couldn’t get out of, which caused enough pain for his opponent to submit but not before he had been killed by the chokehold.
7. Studied in England
Education-wise, Kang studied in England. First, she went to the University of Bristol, which is something called a red brick university. For those who are curious, this term refers to one of the nine civic universities that were founded in the major industrial cities of 19th century England, though it has undergone sufficient evolution that it is now sometimes used for all of the British universities founded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Later on, Kang went to the School of Oriental and African Studies, which is one of the colleges that make up the University of London. It claims to be the best school in the entire world when it comes to studies of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
8. Studied Economics, Philosophy, Finance, and Financial Law
In school, Kang studied a number of subjects that were connected with one another, which were economics, philosophy, finance, and financial law. As a field, economics is very focused on the use of wealth, the production of wealth, and the transfer of wealth. However, its fundamental role in the human experience means that it is a very prominent topic in philosophy. Meanwhile, finance relies on economics for much of its foundation but is concerned with the management of significant sums of money to the exclusion of other concerns, while financial law is connected with not just finance but also philosophy to a considerable extent.
9. Supports Body Diversity
Kang is a supporter of body diversity. This is unsurprising considering her own experiences with eating disorders, which played such a huge role in her childhood as well as her modeling career. As such, she is one of the many people who are pushing for the modeling industry to use a wider range of models with a wider range of body types.
10. Big Pokemon Fan
Amusingly, Kang is apparently a big Pokemon fan. Given her age, she would’ve been a member of the target market when the very first generation of Pokemon games was released to the public. However, what is unusual about Kang is that she doesn’t seem to be someone who was once a Pokemon fan but rather someone who continues to be a Pokemon fan.
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