Miss Korea 2009 will be the first to represent her country in two international beauty pageants.

Miss Kim Juri, who holds the crown of Miss Korea, will fly to Las Vegas on Aug 7 to attend the 59th Miss Universe competition.

She is also the winner of Miss Seoul 2009.  It will be the first time a beauty pageant winner from Korea is representing the country in two international beauty pageants - Miss World 2009 and 2010 Miss Universe pageant.

She was quoted as saying: “I’ve been cheering aggressively for Korea’s victory during the World Cup. Sadly, Korea failed to make to quarterfinals, but I’ll try to achieve victory this time in Miss Universe pageant for Korean soccer players’ sake."

Kim added that she would “show the beauty of Korea to the world by winning the crown.“

Before Kim, Miss Lee Ha-ni came in 4th place at the Miss Universe pageant in 2007, winning the highest accolade for the country then in a beauty pageant.

Local observers in Korea said the possibility of her winning the crown is higher than that of former Miss Korea because the 22-year-old beauty also has the smarts. She is fluent in Korean, Russian and English, having graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia.

After arriving in Las Vegas, she plans to receive training for 16 days. The world beauty contest will be held on Aug 23, 2010.